Do People Perceive Juvenile Sex Offenders Who Are Gay and Christian as Hypocrites? Social Identity Theory and Dual Identity Defendants

• Other Authors: Altholz, Rachel Leah (Author)
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Social psychology; Religion; Law; Dual identities; Hypocrisy; Juror punitiveness; Sexual orientation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.24907

abstract: This study investigates the presence of a dual identity defendant, and how sharing an in-group can create a judgment bias. A sample of 256 participants was used to test whether there was a relationship between judgment punitiveness, perceptions of shared identity, hypocrisy and the social identities (religion and sexual orientation) of the participants and a defendant charges with a sexual offence. Results suggest that Christian participants selected more punitive outcomes for the defendant compared to non-Christian participants. Further, participants were more punitive when the defendant was gay compared to when the defendant was heterosexual. Also, when the defendant was straight there was a stronger feeling of similarity between the participants and defendant compared to when the defendant was gay, and non-Christian participants had a stronger feeling of closeness to the defendant compared to Christian participants. There was a significant interaction found, suggesting that when the defendant was Christian and gay he was seen as more hypocritical compared to when he was Christian and straight; there was no interaction when the defendant was not Christian. These findings should aid in future research and a better understanding of how dual identity defendants are perceived in the courtroom. === Dissertation/Thesis === M.S. Psychology 2014