Psychology
Answer to Question
A. Variables
1. IV #1: Ordinary manipulated between
Levels: Robbery
Forgery
2. IV #2: Attractive manipulated between
Levels: Robbery
Forgery
3. DV: the mean number of sentencing months determined using arithmetic test
B. Hypotheses
1. Main effects
Ordinary – There is a significant effect for attractiveness perception when it comes to the length of sentencing imposed on ordinary looking male than the more attractive male.
Attractive – The nature of offence may have a significant. Considering the interaction (see below) there is a difference on the length of sentencing between robbery and forgery. Attractive male is likely to be sentenced for a longer period than ordinary looking male.
2. Interaction
Attractiveness affects human perception in terms of imposing length of sentencing. When an attractive male commits robbery, he is likely to get lower sentencing than the ordinary looking male. However, when an attractive looking male commits forgery, he is likely to get higher sentencing than the ordinary looking male.
Why hypothesize that the IVs interact?
Attractiveness is often associated to the notion of pleasantness and facial beauty referred to as the “Halo Effect”. More attractive male tends to afford lower sentencing than the ordinary looking male due to the perceived notion of attractiveness and association to pleasantness. However, it appears that the Halo effect can also be superseded by the type of committed crime. Although, ordinary looking males tend to fetch higher sentencing from committing robbery, it appears that an attractive male gets higher sentencing in forgery offences. The type of crime committed affects the level of perception that court jurors have between an ordinary and attractive male.
Background
Attractive but guilty: Deliberation and the physical attractiveness bias. By Patry, M. W. (2008). Psychological Reports, 103, 727-733; the current study examined the effect of jury deliberation on the tendency for mock jurors to find attractive defendants guilty less often. It was expected that there would be an interaction between group deliberation (yes or no) and defendant's appearance (plain-looking or attractive). It was hypothesized that mock jurors who did not deliberate would be more likely to find a plain-looking defendant guilty and that deliberation would mitigate this effect. The study was a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design. Participants were assigned randomly to one of four conditions: attractive defendant/deliberation, attractive defendant/no deliberation, plain-looking defendant/deliberation, and plain-looking defendant/no deliberation. A total of 172 undergraduates from a small, rural college in Vermont contributed to this study: mock jurors were 70 men and 52 women, ages ranged from 18 to 52 years (M=20.5, SD = 4.9). The hypothesis was supported. Mock jurors who did not deliberate were more likely to find the plain-looking defendant guilty, whereas mock jurors who deliberated were more likely to find the attractive defendant guilty.
Additional note: Research Article. The article encompasses similar concept in determining the effect of attractiveness on jury decisions given the factors of looks, gender and type crime committed. The result of the study suggests that deliberation among mock jurors affect sentencing outcomes where the plain looking is likely to be found guilty with the absence of deliberation. On the other hand, attractive defendants are likely to be found guilty when a mock juror decided to deliberate.
One Possible additional article related to topic from reference list.
Maeder, E. M., & Burdett, J. (2011). The Combined Effect of Defendant Race and Alleged Gang Affiliation on Mock Juror Decision-Making. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 20(2), 188-201. doi:10.1080/13218719.2011.633330
Background
Justice needs a blindfold: Effects of gender and attractiveness on prison sentences and attributions of personal characteristics in a judicial process. By Ahola, A. S., Christianson, S. Å., & Hellström, Å. (2009). Justice needs a blindfold: Effects of gender and attractiveness on prison sentences and attributions of personal characteristics in a judicial process. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 16(1), 90-100. This study examined the effect of gender and facial characteristics of criminal offenders on attributions of crime-relevant traits. The stimulus pictures portrayed women and men of varying attractiveness. Participants were presented with pictures of these female or male faces along with accompanying crime accounts. The crime account described the individual in the picture as a person who had committed one of the following crimes: theft, fraud, drug crime, child molestation, child abuse, or homicide. After reading one case account, the participants were asked to evaluate the credibility and other crime-relevant personality traits of the offender. Results showed that female defendants were rated more favorably than were male defendants. Gender worked to the advantage of the female perpetrator. There were also slight tendencies towards more lenient appraisal of the more attractive women.
Additional note: Research article – the article explores the effect of gender, sex, and attractiveness in making attribution to criminal traits. In the qualitative study, the results suggest that female defendants are likely to be sentenced by male jurors. In addition, leniency is applied to attractive women, which is considered as an advantage for female defendants.
One Possible additional article related to topic from reference list.
Stuart II, J. E. (2010). Appearance and punishment: The attraction-leniency effect in the courtroom. The Journal of Social Psychology, 125(3), 373-378. doi:10.1080/00224545.1985.9922900
D. Method
1) Subjects - Randomly selected participants will be composed of 25 males and 25 females from various age groups, but age threshold will is between 18 to 40 years old.
2) Apparatus and task – The two crime vignettes (robbery and forgery) were designed to use flashcards containing pictures of hypothetical defenders that are randomly arranged to show ordinary looking men and attractive men. Fictional description of the crime committed will be included to provide the subjects with information that will help them to decide the length of sentencing they will impose on the accused.
3) Procedure – Each of the fictional case attributed to each photo in the flashcards will contain information about the accused, but in order to avoid interactions caused by age, race, and plea factors, all of the accused will be 25-year old Caucasian males. Given the elements of the fictional case such as nature of offence, date, and evidence, a rating scale will be employed to gauge participant response. All of the fictional offences attributed to the men in the photo will be placed on a guilty verdict, but the participants will be the one to decide how long the accused will be incarcerated. The rating scale will range from zero to ten months with zero corresponding to time-served and ten being the maximum number of months to be imposed on the accused. This scale will be used in both robbery and forgery cases to sustain consistency in responses.
F. Discussion – The study encompasses the understanding of attractive bias when it comes to deciding the length of sentence that should be imposed on cases of robbery and or forgery given the conditions of pleasantness of the accused. Literatures constituting similarity of concept, it is consistent that attractive male defendants are sentenced more favorably based on their attractiveness. Moreover, the female segment of the participants showed more leniencies towards attractive male defendants than average looking defendants. When it comes to male participants judging on the length of sentencing to be imposed on male defendants, it is apparent that attractive male defendants gets the longest sentencing. The study aims to expand the understanding of how attractiveness influences judgment of punishment. Furthermore, the findings in this study suggest consistency to those of the previous studies involving attractiveness as a factor in decision-making.
G. Ethics – In order to exercise research ethics in performing the study, participants’ consent were first solicited before signing them up for the study. Permissions to use image from the people in the photos were obtained in consideration to reputation damages that the study may inflict. Furthermore, disclaimers were stated both in writing and verbally to the participants after acting on their part on the study to inform them that the information about the people in the photos are fictional and not in any way reflect actuality of events. It is important to inform the participants of the conditions and disclaimers of the activity to avoid potential damages to reputation of the people on the photos used in the study.
Results
References
Ahola, A. S., Christianson, S. Å., & Hellström, Å. (2009). Justice needs a blindfold: Effects of gender and attractiveness on prison sentences and attributions of personal characteristics in a judicial process. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 16(1), 90-100. doi:10.1080/13218710802242011
Maeder, E. M., & Burdett, J. (2011). The Combined Effect of Defendant Race and Alleged Gang Affiliation on Mock Juror Decision-Making. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 20(2), 188-201. doi:10.1080/13218719.2011.633330
Patry, M. W. (2008). Attractive but guilty: Deliberation and physical attractiveness bias. Psychological Reports, 103, 727-733. doi:10.2466/PR0.102.3.727-733
Stuart II, J. E. (2010). Appearance and punishment: The attraction-leniency effect in the courtroom. The Journal of Social Psychology, 125(3), 373-378. doi:10.1080/00224545.1985.9922900
