The current study examined the impact of education about rape myths and sexual consent law on the guilt and responsibility assessment of mock jurors in a hypothetical rape trial. Juror education had no effect on any of the measures and did not vary with alcohol consumption. In regards to alcohol, mock jurors always assigned more guilt to the defendant if the complainant was sober, regardless of his alcohol consumption. Mock jurors consistently found the defendant guilty when both were sober. Complainants were assessed more responsibility when both the complainant and defendant were sober and when they were both intoxicated. More responsibility was attributed to the complainant when she was intoxicated and the defendant was sober. The complainant was assessed the least responsibility when she was sober and the defendant was intoxicated. Findings suggest that educating mock jurors about rape myths does not have an effect on ratings of defendant guilt.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-2714 |
| Date | 11 August 2012 |
| Creators | Anderson, Camille Elisa |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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