Criminal Identity

The Key to Situational Construals in Mock Criminal Court Cases

Bibliographic Data

ID2154460
AuthorsOlga Tsoudis, Lynn Smith-Lovin Olga Tsoudis (corresponding author), L Smith-Lovin (0000-0002-8211-4719)
Year2001
Volume21
Issue1
Pages3-31
Publication date2001-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Spectrum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0273-2173 • E-ISSN: 1521-0707
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02732170150201793
OpenAlexW4245732078
LanguageEN
Citations received19

A number of researchers have explored legal decision making, attempting to predict factors that influence sentencing. For example, Dunning (1986) focused on one major factor, the decision maker's construal of the crime. Dunning's research demonstrated the importance of construals (filling in of information) in sentencing decisions; however, he was unable to identify what predicts these construals. Here we apply affect control theory to predict construals. Study 1 focuses on mock jurors' sentencing of a guilty offender; it tests hypotheses generated from affect control theory that link emotion displays to construals through inferences about the criminal's identity. Path analyses demonstrate that construals can be explained by inferences about the criminal's identity. Study 2 introduces concrete information about prior record. Results suggest that identity inferences still remain important in forming construals when prior record information is available. These studies provide more evidence for the importance of social perceptions in legal decision making

Computer security · Construal level theory · Construals · Criminal court · Criminology · Perception · Political science · Situational ethics · Computer Science · Cultural Differences and Values · Jury Decision Making Processes · Law · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Power and Status Dynamics · Social Psychology