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Influencing jurors' perceptions of guilt: Expression of emotionality during testimony
Author(s) -
Salekin Randall T.,
Ogloff James R. P.,
McFarland Cathy,
Rogers Richard
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370130208
Subject(s) - affect (linguistics) , emotionality , perception , psychology , social psychology , expression (computer science) , emotional expression , developmental psychology , communication , neuroscience , computer science , programming language
The emotionality of a defendant while giving testimony may have a significant effect on trial outcome. We presented mock jurors with videotaped testimony and excerpts of court transcripts to determine if the emotional display of a defendant influenced the jurors' perceptions of guilt. A factorial design was employed that varied gender (male\female defendant) and emotional expression (flat affect, moderate affect, high affect). The results revealed that level of emotion significantly affected perceptions of guilt among mock jurors for the female but not for the male defendant. Specifically, participants were likely to perceive the accused as more guilty when she displayed extreme affect (either flat or high affect), and less guilty when she displayed moderate affect during her testimony.