VICTIM’S EMOTIONS IN CONTEXT: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EMOTIONAL VICTIM EFFECT IN DIFFERENT SEXUAL ASSAULT SCENARIOS

Author

Christina Marie Engelken, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Kang, Tamara

Abstract

Research into the Emotional Victim Effect (EVE) has found that generally, sad victims are more likely to achieve a guilty verdict at trial than angry or neutral victims. However, the extant literature has neglected the role of trial context in the EVE. Specifically, in a sexual assault trial, the defense may use an array of arguments. Of importance, the defense may contend that the victim actually consented to the sexual encounter, or they may argue that the victim was incorrect in her identification. To date, no researcher has studied the EVE under both of these two different sexual assault trial contexts. In this paper, two studies investigated the relationship between victim emotions and mock jurors’ self-reported likelihood to convict in these two different trial contexts. For both studies, the impact of perceived emotional appropriateness and a two factor model of victim credibility (honesty and accuracy) were also investigated. Under the Consent Defense, victim emotion did not significantly predict likelihood to convict, perhaps signaling a changing view of sexual assault victims since the #MeToo Movement. While perceived emotional appropriateness did not influence self-reported likelihood to convict, the honesty component of credibility was found to be the most potent predictor. Under the Misidentification Defense scenario, victim emotion was found to indirectly influence verdicts through perceptions of the victim’s accuracy. Further, victim emotion was found to predict perceived emotional appropriateness. The present study uses Van Kleef’s Emotions as Social Information model to understand these findings.