Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institution of Education, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 19;19(16):10345. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610345.
Previous studies have demonstrated the prevalence and negative consequences of rape myths in various social contexts, including their impact on jury decision-making. The current study adopted a mixed methods design to explore how educating jurors about rape myths via a judge's direction affected their decision-making regarding the guilt or innocence of a defendant in a rape case. Data were obtained from two mock trials and 12 questionnaire responses. The sample consisted of 12 women participants aged from 20 to 25. The thematic analysis indicated that participants who received rape myths education exhibited resistance to rape myths, increased scrutiny of the defendant as opposed to the complainant, and less disbelief of the complainant's alleged behaviours. Quantitative analysis suggested a strong positive correlation between the understanding of rape myths education and its influence on decision making; however, this was only found in the intervention group. Findings showed insights into the possible advantages of rape myths education for jurors that were delivered via the judge's direction. Future research directions and implications were discussed.
先前的研究已经证明了在各种社会背景下，强奸神话的普遍性和负面影响，包括它们对陪审团决策的影响。本研究采用混合方法设计，探讨了通过法官指导向陪审员传授强奸神话如何影响他们对强奸案件被告有罪或无罪的决策。数据来自两个模拟审判和 12 份问卷答复。样本由 12 名年龄在 20 至 25 岁之间的女性参与者组成。主题分析表明，接受强奸神话教育的参与者表现出对强奸神话的抵制，对被告的审查增加，而对原告的指控行为的怀疑减少。定量分析表明，对强奸神话教育的理解与其对决策的影响之间存在强烈的正相关关系；然而，这仅在干预组中发现。研究结果深入了解了通过法官指导向陪审员传授强奸神话教育的可能优势。讨论了未来的研究方向和影响。
