Ruva Christine L, Smith Kendall D, Sykes Elizabeth C
University of South Florida, Sarasota, USA.
University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2023 Dec;38(23-24):12089-12112. doi: 10.1177/08862605231191227. Epub 2023 Aug 21.
Using the context of an intimate partner homicide trial, the study explored the effects of defendant gender and age on mock-jurors' verdicts, sentences, and culpability ratings-and whether defendant credibility and juror anger mediate these effects. The study used a 2 (Defendant Gender: male vs. female) × 3 (Defendant Age: 25, 45, or 65 years) between-subjects design. Participants ( = 513 community members) completed the experiment online. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the six Defendant Gender × Age Conditions. Participants read the trial transcripts that included the age and gender manipulations, provided verdicts and sentences, and completed the following measures: culpability, anger, credibility, and manipulation checks. Consistent with our hypotheses mock-jurors were more likely to find the male defendant guilty and give him longer sentences than the female defendant. Additionally, when the defendant was male (vs. female) mock-jurors provided higher anger ratings and rated the defendant as more culpable in the victim's death. Also consistent with our hypotheses, mock-jurors were more likely to find the youngest defendant guilty and view him as more culpable and less credible than the oldest defendant. The mechanisms responsible for jurors' biased decisions varied as a function of the extra-legal variable (defendant gender vs. age). The defendant age effect was mediated by defendant credibility and the gender effect by juror anger. A defendant's right to a fair trial is dependent on a court's ability to limit extra-legal variables from influencing jurors' decisions. Understanding the mechanism responsible for such bias is required before the courts can effectively remedy bias.
在亲密伴侣杀人案审判的背景下，该研究探讨了被告性别和年龄对模拟陪审员的裁决、量刑和罪责评定的影响，以及被告的可信度和陪审员的愤怒情绪是否会介导这些影响。该研究采用了2（被告性别：男性与女性）×3（被告年龄：25岁、45岁或65岁）的组间设计。参与者（n = 513名社区成员）通过在线方式完成实验。参与者被随机分配到六个被告性别×年龄条件中的一个。参与者阅读了包含年龄和性别操纵的审判记录，给出裁决和量刑，并完成以下测量：罪责、愤怒、可信度和操纵检验。与我们的假设一致，模拟陪审员比女性被告更有可能判定男性被告有罪并判处更长的刑期。此外，当被告为男性（而非女性）时，模拟陪审员给出的愤怒评分更高，并认为被告在受害者死亡中负有更大的罪责。同样与我们的假设一致，模拟陪审员比最年长的被告更有可能判定最年轻的被告有罪，并认为他更应受谴责且可信度更低。导致陪审员做出有偏见决定的机制因法外变量（被告性别与年龄）的不同而有所差异。被告年龄效应由被告可信度介导，性别效应由陪审员愤怒介导。被告获得公平审判的权利取决于法院限制法外变量影响陪审员决定的能力。在法院能够有效纠正偏见之前，需要了解导致这种偏见的机制。
