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The importance of being earnest: displayed emotions and witness credibility
Author(s) -
Kaufmann Geir,
Drevland Guri C. B.,
Wessel Ellen,
Overskeid Geir,
Magnussen Svein
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.842
Subject(s) - credibility , psychology , witness , social psychology , recall , verdict , perception , reading (process) , social perception , content (measure theory) , cognitive psychology , linguistics , mathematical analysis , philosophy , mathematics , neuroscience , political science , law
Participants viewed one of six video‐recorded versions of a rape victim's testimony, role‐played by a professional actress in one of six versions: Two versions of the testimony, representing a strong and a less strong rape scenario, were given in a free‐recall manner with one of three kinds of emotions displayed, termed congruent, neutral and incongruent emotional expressions. Credibility judgements were strongly influenced by the emotions displayed, but not by the content of the story. When video watching was compared to reading a transcript of the testimony, results indicated that perceived credibility was reduced when the witness displayed neutral or incongruent emotions. Story content and displayed emotion contributed equally to estimates of the probability of a guilty verdict. We conclude that perception of credibility is strongly influenced by social stereotypes regarding appropriate emotional expression. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.