Citation

Salekin RT, Ogloff JRP, McFarland C, Rogers R. Behav. Sci. Law 1995; 13(2): 293-305.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.2370130208

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

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 (malefemale 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.

Language: en