NCJ Number
164886
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 20 Issue: 4 Dated: (August 1996) Pages: 431-442
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study is designed to clarify and extend previous findings regarding defendant status effects in criminal cases to civil liability cases.
Abstract
Design modifications used in this study will show whether status shield and liability effects are due to the magnitude or professional relatedness of an offense and whether status effects occur independently of defendant motivation and judgmental context. Previous research has documented that an offender's status may be a protective shield or a harmful liability. One model (Rosoff, 1989) contends that status effects are moderated by offense magnitude, with status providing a shield for minor offenses, but acting as a liability for major offenses. Another model (Skolnick and Shaw, 1994) asserts that the professional relatedness of an offense moderates status effects, with status acting as a shield for professionally unrelated offenses and as a liability for professionally related offenses. The current study examined the moderator of these status effects. Clarifying and extending prior research of the investigators, 120 participants read 1 of 12 hypothetical civil case summaries and rated defendant liability, monetary damages, and other evaluative judgments. A 3 x 2 x 2 factorial design varied offense severity, defendant status, and the professional relatedness of the offense. Results supported professional relatedness as the moderator of status effects, extending previous findings from criminal to civil proceedings and eliminating alternative hypotheses suggested by the earlier work. 1 table, 3 figures, and 11 references