Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Eakin, Deborah

Committee Member

Keeley, Jared

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 was based on MacQuoid and Jacquin’s (2011) study of juror bias in rape trials, except that an additional level of alcohol consumption was utilized in examining mock juror verdicts. Specifically, this study examined the influence of complainant alcohol consumption and defendant alcohol consumption on the opinions of mock jurors after deliberation (N = 527). Defendant alcohol consumption did not impact mock juror responsibility attributions of guilt ratings before of after deliberation. However, complainant alcohol consumption significantly impacted mock juror opinions before and after group deliberation. Complainants who were buzzed at the time of the alleged rape were viewed are more responsible for the rape than those who were intoxicated or sober. Defendants were viewed as more responsible when the complainant was intoxicated at the time of the alleged rape. The results indicate that juror biases are not an issue in today’s court.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20125

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