Prior Allegations of Harassment Impact Mock Jurors’ Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in a Criminal Trial

Pica, Emily; Sheahan, Chelsea L.; Pozzulo, Joanna

doi:10.1007/s11199-019-01076-2

Cited by 9 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Thompson and colleagues found that mock-jurors viewed the victim as more believable, and were more likely to render a guilty verdict, when there were multiple allegations against the defendant (as opposed to one allegation). Though not directly relevant to the number of alleged victims, Pica et al (2020b) also examined the influence of the number of allegations in a sexual harassment case, specifically allegations made by a single individual. Results revealed that mock-jurors were more likely to render a guilty verdict, held more favorable perceptions of the victim, and held less favorable perceptions of the defendant when the victim did not make prior allegations of sexual harassment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mock-Jurors’ Judgements in a Sexual Assault Case: The Influence of Defendant Race and Occupational Status, Delayed Reporting, and Multiple Allegations

Fraser

Pica

Pozzulo

2023

J Interpers Violence

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Reports of sexual offences have increased in recent years, with many cases involving allegations against high-status individuals (e.g., Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby). In addition, many of these cases have involved allegations against the defendant from multiple victims, with long delays in reporting of the alleged assault. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of defendant occupational status (low vs. high), defendant race (White, Black), number of allegations (one vs. five victims), and the length of reporting delay (5, 20, or 35 years) on mock-juror decision-making. Mock-jurors ( N = 752) read a mock-trial transcript describing a sexual assault case. After reading the trial transcript, mock-jurors were asked to provide dichotomous and continuous guilt ratings, as well as ratings regarding their perceptions of the defendant and victim. Results revealed that mock-jurors rendered more guilty verdicts, assigned higher guilt ratings, and perceived the defendant less favorably and the victim more favorably, when the defendant was White (as opposed to Black) and when there were multiple allegations against the defendant. The current findings suggest that defendant race and the number of allegations are highly influential in the context of a sexual assault case.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mock-Jurors’ Judgements in a Sexual Assault Case: The Influence of Defendant Race and Occupational Status, Delayed Reporting, and Multiple Allegations

Fraser

Pica

Pozzulo

2023

J Interpers Violence

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“…Responses were recorded on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = not at all , 7 = very much ). Though not taken directly from previous research, studies examining perceptions of sexual harassment allegations use similar purpose-built items to assess the subjective veracity of allegations and guilt likelihood (e.g., Bhattacharya & Stockdale, 2016; Pica et al, 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When “good guys” do bad things: Evaluations of sexual harassment allegations against male allies

Lizzio‐Wilson

Klas

Clarke

2022

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations

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Across two studies ( Ns = 268 and 574), we examined the perceived legitimacy of sexual harassment allegations made against male allies. Overall, observers were less inclined to believe an allegation (Studies 1 and 2) and endorsed less severe punishments against a perpetrator who engaged in egalitarian (vs. sexist) behaviors toward women (Studies 1 and 2). Observers also endorsed weaker reparatory measures, were more willing to move past the allegation, and were more inclined to blame the victim for the incident when an egalitarian (vs. sexist) man was accused, especially when there was greater uncertainty surrounding his guilt (Study 2). Importantly, these effects were mediated by perpetrator typicality: the egalitarian perpetrator less closely resembled a typical perpetrator of sexual harassment, which, in turn, predicted more lenient evaluations (Study 2). These findings highlight how accusations of male allies’ problematic behavior can reinforce widespread scepticism surrounding sexual harassment allegations and discriminatory attitudes towards victims.

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“…With the rise of the #MeToo movement, the need for effective strategies to increase recognition of sexual harassment has become more apparent. Morever, evidence suggests that there are still many factors contributing to disagreement among people about what behaviors are considered sexual harassment (e.g., Herrera et al, 2017;Pica et al, 2020). We approach this question of how perspective-taking affects recognition of sexual harassment and judgments of sexual harassment victims in two contexts: workplaces and universities.…”

Section: Imagine Yourself In Her Shoes: Investigating the Role Of Per...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Imagine yourself in her shoes: Investigating the role of perspective-taking on perceptions of sexual harassment

Billeaud¹,

Kulibert²,

O’Brien³

2022

Preprint

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We investigated whether perspective-taking with a sexual harassment complainant increases recognition of sexual harassment. In two experiments, participants were instructed to perspective-take with the complainant or to remain objective. In Experiment 1, an online sample read about a case of unwanted sexual attention in the workplace. In Experiment 2, college students read about a case of gender harassment on campus. Contrary to hypotheses, participants who were instructed to take the perspective of the complainant did not report more recognition of sexual harassment than participants who remained objective. The present findings question the efficacy of perspective-taking in this context.

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Prior Allegations of Harassment Impact Mock Jurors’ Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in a Criminal Trial

Cited by 9 publications

References 33 publications

Mock-Jurors’ Judgements in a Sexual Assault Case: The Influence of Defendant Race and Occupational Status, Delayed Reporting, and Multiple Allegations

Mock-Jurors’ Judgements in a Sexual Assault Case: The Influence of Defendant Race and Occupational Status, Delayed Reporting, and Multiple Allegations

When “good guys” do bad things: Evaluations of sexual harassment allegations against male allies

Imagine yourself in her shoes: Investigating the role of perspective-taking on perceptions of sexual harassment

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