Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Eakin, Deborah K.

Committee Member

Giesen, J. Martin

Committee Member

Armstrong, Kevin J.

Date of Degree

8-11-2012

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Clinical Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

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.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20127

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