Perceptions of Blue-Collar and White-Collar Crime: The Effect of Defendant Race on Simulated Juror Decisions

• NCJ Number: 112788
• Journal: Journal of Social Psychology Volume: 128 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1988) Pages: 191-197
• Author(s): R A Gordon; T A Bindrim; M L McNicholas; Teresa L Walden
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses a study that used 56 undergraduate students to examine the effect of defendant race and type of crime on simulated juror decisions.

Abstract

The 24 male and 32 female subjects included an equal number of black and white students at a small university in the United States. An equal number of black and white students was randomly assigned to receive one of four crime descriptions that varied in terms of defendant race (black or white) and the type of crime (burglary or embezzlement) committed. Burglary was chosen as a blue-collar crime and embezzlement as a white-collar crime. The authors hypothesized that a black defendant who committed a blue-collar crime would be judged more harshly than a white defendant accused of the same crime. It also was predicted that a white defendant accused of committing a white-collar crime would be judged more harshly than a black defendant accused of the same crime. Students were asked to rank the perceived severity of the crime on a 9-point scale ranging from moderately severe to extremely severe. Subjects also were asked to indicate the likelihood that the defendant would repeat the crime, and subsequently to recommend jail sentences and bail amounts. As hypothesized, the white embezzler received longer jail sentences than the black embezzler, and the black burglar received longer jail sentences than the white one. 15 references. (Author abstract modified)