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Jury Study

In: Other Topics

Submitted By dennisgowdie
Words 1085
Pages 5
Method
Participants
There were 64 participants who agreed to participate in this survey. The participants ranged between the ages of 18 and 33 years old. There were 45 males and 19 females that participated in this survey. This survey was given on the campus of the City College of New York. The participants had to be present on the City College campus at the time that the study was being distributed. Faculty members were also excluded from participating in the survey. The participants did not receive any award for their participation in the survey.
Materials
The participants were given 4 different types of surveys. The surveys varied in different levels of attractiveness between the driver and the victim. The surveys were paired with an unattractive driver and unattractive victim UU, an attractive driver and an attractive victim AA, an unattractive driver and an attractive victim UA, and an attractive driver and unattractive victim AU. The main purpose of this manipulation to the different types of surveys is to test whether or not the level of attractiveness or unattractiveness of the driver significantly impacted the perception of the participant when measuring the amount of years they chose to sentence the driver. The survey consisted of a scale that ranged from 1-9. 1 was represented as extremely favorable and 9 was represented as extremely unfavorable.
Procedure
In this jury study the 64 participants were given one of the four surveys as mentioned above in which they were asked to read a scenario and use their moral judgment skills in order to make a decision that could either favor the driver or the victim in this scenario based on how attractive the participant perceived them to be. Participants were asked to sentence the reckless driver of the vehicle to a specific number of years in prison.
Results
The two independent variables in this study are the attractiveness of the diver and the attractiveness of the victim. The dependent variable would be the amount of years served in prison that was to be decided by the participant. This study was a between subject design. The manipulation was successful because the results show that drivers who were perceived as less attractive to the participants were given more years served in prison as compared to more attractive drivers.
To check for the manipulation of the driver, an independent sample t-test was conducted. The results showed that participants perceived the driver more favorably when the driver was attractive (M= 5.42, SD= 2.53) than when the driver was in the unattractive condition (M= 6.42, SD= 2.25). This difference was only marginally significant, t(62)= -1.68, p< .10.
To check for the manipulation of the victim, an independent sample t-test was conducted and showed that participants in the attractive victim group (M= 3.13, SD= 2.58) gave significantly more favorable ratings on the survey than those in the unattractive condition (M= 5.45, SD= 2.72). This difference was favorably significant, t(62)= -3.51, p< .01.
Hypothesis 1- The participants will be more likely to give the driver less amount of time if the driver is perceived as more attractive by the participant of the survey.
Hypothesis 2- The participants will be more likely to give the driver a harsher penalty if the victim is perceived as more attractive than the driver by the participant of the survey.
Hypothesis 3- The participants who perceive the driver to be unattractive and the victim to be attractive will be sentenced to the most number of years served in prison and participants who perceive the driver as unattractive and the victim as unattractive will be sentenced to the least amount of years to be served in prison.
The first hypothesis was tested by using a two-way ANOVA. The two-way ANOVA was administered in order to display that the attractiveness of the driver was not significant, F(1,60) = .01, p> .05. The participants who perceived the driver as attractive sentenced them to fewer years served in prison (M= 11.88, SE= 1.46) than those participants who were perceived as unattractive drivers.
The second hypothesis was tested by using a factorial ANOVA. A factorial ANOVA was administered in order to demonstrate that if the victim was perceived as attractive by the participant, then the driver would be sentenced to serve more years in prison (M= 12.55, SE = 1.46) than those participants who perceived the victim as unattractive (M= 11.37, SE = 1.42). The differences were not significantly different, F(1, 60) = .34, p> .05.
The third hypothesis was tested by using a two-way ANOVA. A two-way ANOVA was administered which displayed that participants who perceived the driver to be unattractive and the victim to be attractive were given the most number of years served in prison (M= 13.38, SD= 11.66) and participants who perceived the driver as unattractive and the victim as unattractive were given the least amount of years to be served in prison (M= 10.71, SD= 6.14). These findings were not significantly different, F(1, 60) = .53, P> .05.
This study finds that if the participants perceive a person to be more attractive, then they will be more likely to give the more attractive person fewer years served in prison. When the participant perceives the driver to be less attractive, they are likely to give the driver more time served in prison. This study demonstrates that the level of attractiveness greatly impacts the way some individuals treat others. I think that we found these results because many individuals in today’s society treat others either favorably or unfavorably solely based on their looks, whether or not they are perceived as attractive or unattractive rather than to treat individuals based on the content of their character.
I think that one problem with this study is that the only participants who were able to participate in this survey had to be located on the campus of City College at the specific point in time in which the survey was being distributed. I think that in order to receive better results, students should be given an entire week in order to distribute the survey to a variety of people throughout multiple areas rather than one specific location, which can limit the study. Also, the survey was only given to students and excluded faulty members, which I think can hinder the full potential of the study as well.

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