Prejudice and terror management at trial: Effects of defendant race/ethnicity and mortality salience on mock-jurors’ verdict judgments
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2016
Abstract
Following a mortality salience or control prime, Black, Hispanic, and White college students read a murder/carjacking or auto theft trial transcript in which the defendant belonged to their racial/ethnic group or one of the others. Black and Hispanic, but not White, mock-jurors discriminated, more frequently judging outgroup defendants guilty. Mortality salience affected judgments about outgroup, but not ingroup, defendants, heightening perceptions of guilt in the murder case and decreasing guilty verdict preferences in the theft case. Mortality salience may compel derogation of outgroup defendants who threaten the cultural worldview, but not of less threatening ingroup defendants. The effect, however, seems restricted to crimes like murder that can sustain death-related anxiety.
Recommended Citation
Leippe, Michael R.; Bergold, Amanda N.; and Eisenstadt, Donna, "Prejudice and terror management at trial: Effects of defendant race/ethnicity and mortality salience on mock-jurors’ verdict judgments" (2016). Articles. 5.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/qc_articles/5