{"title":"The Impact of Victim Physical Maturity and Judicial Instruction on Jury Decision Making in Child Sexual Abuse Cases","authors":"Jaylan Melek Aliev, Kayla A. Burd, Mary Kate Koch","doi":"10.1002/acp.70060","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n <p>The current study investigated the relationship between victim physical maturity and judicial instruction on the outcomes of child sexual abuse (CSA) trials. We employed a 2 (Victim physical maturity: Less mature vs. More mature) × 2 (Judicial instruction: Psychosocial-specific instruction vs. General instruction) between-subjects design. Participants read a vignette detailing a case of CSA, render a verdict, and respond to case-related measures (e.g., victim credibility, perceptions of psychosocial maturity, responsibility). Results indicated that jurors favored prepubescent looking victims, as compared to postpubescent looking victims. Moreover, results indicated psychosocial-specific judicial instruction led to increased positive perceptions of the victim regardless of pubertal status. This research has important implications for the conviction rates in CSA trials involving older and more mature looking victims.</p>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":48281,"journal":{"name":"Applied Cognitive Psychology","volume":"39 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Cognitive Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.70060","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The current study investigated the relationship between victim physical maturity and judicial instruction on the outcomes of child sexual abuse (CSA) trials. We employed a 2 (Victim physical maturity: Less mature vs. More mature) × 2 (Judicial instruction: Psychosocial-specific instruction vs. General instruction) between-subjects design. Participants read a vignette detailing a case of CSA, render a verdict, and respond to case-related measures (e.g., victim credibility, perceptions of psychosocial maturity, responsibility). Results indicated that jurors favored prepubescent looking victims, as compared to postpubescent looking victims. Moreover, results indicated psychosocial-specific judicial instruction led to increased positive perceptions of the victim regardless of pubertal status. This research has important implications for the conviction rates in CSA trials involving older and more mature looking victims.
期刊介绍：
Applied Cognitive Psychology seeks to publish the best papers dealing with psychological analyses of memory, learning, thinking, problem solving, language, and consciousness as they occur in the real world. Applied Cognitive Psychology will publish papers on a wide variety of issues and from diverse theoretical perspectives. The journal focuses on studies of human performance and basic cognitive skills in everyday environments including, but not restricted to, studies of eyewitness memory, autobiographical memory, spatial cognition, skill training, expertise and skilled behaviour. Articles will normally combine realistic investigations of real world events with appropriate theoretical analyses and proper appraisal of practical implications.
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