Honors College Theses

Publication Date

2025

Major

Psychology (B.S.)

Release Option

Open Access

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Amy Hackney

Abstract

Past research has highlighted biases in how individuals are perceived based on their gender and expressed emotions. The current study assessed how the perceived femininity or masculinity of expert witnesses impact credibility and verdicts in a jury decision making task. Additionally, it investigated how the presence or absence of emotional expression, specifically, anger versus neutral presentations, affects the perception of expert credibility and verdict outcomes. One hundred and eighteen undergraduate participants assumed the role of jurors in a criminal trial involving ambiguous evidence, with the expert witness serving as the primary source of testimony for the defense. Four versions of the defense’s female expert witness were presented across conditions: (a) a feminine expert expressing anger, (b) a feminine expert expressing no emotion, (c) a masculine expert expressing anger, and (d) a masculine expert expressing no emotion. Findings indicated that emotional expression does significantly affect perceptions of credibility, with experts expressing anger viewed as less credible than experts expressing no emotion, whereas gendered appearance did not significantly affect perceived credibility. However, an underpowered pattern emerged suggesting that female experts who appear more masculine and express anger are more persuasive than all other studied conditions. These findings suggest that characteristics of an expert, beyond the content of their testimony, may influence jury decision making and should be further researched.

Download

Share

COinS