Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sexual objectification on the attribution processes of the guilt of a defendant – and also on the level of guilt. It was also hypothesized that legal expertise could be a protective factor in countering the influence of sexual objectification.

Design/methodology/approach

Sexual objectification can be defined as the perspective in which a person is evaluated solely in terms of his or her body parts or sexual function. As yet, no studies have assessed the influence of sexual objectification on guilt assessment in the legal system; this paper aims to explore whether sexual objectification has an influence on the attribution processes of a defendant's guilt.

Findings

The statistical analysis revealed that the sexually objectified defendant received a guilty verdict more often than a non-sexually objectified defendant; additionally, legal experts were more likely to identify the defendant as not guilty than non-legal experts. The findings support the hypothesis that sexual objectification is indeed one of the common stereotypes that lead to discrimination.

Originality/value

The present study provides novel findings regarding sexual objectification in the forensic context in which the defendant is viewed and evaluated.

中文翻译：

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性客观化对意大利毕业生样本内疚评估的影响

目的

本研究的目的是调查性客观化对被告有罪归因过程的影响——以及对有罪水平的影响。还假设法律专业知识可以成为对抗性物化影响的保护因素。

设计/方法/方法

性客观化可以定义为仅根据他或她的身体部位或性功能来评估一个人的观点。迄今为止，还没有研究评估过性客体化对法律系统内有罪评估的影响；本文旨在探讨性客观化是否对被告有罪的归因过程产生影响。

发现

统计分析显示，性客观化的被告比非性客观化的被告更常收到有罪判决；此外，法律专家比非法律专家更有可能认定被告无罪。调查结果支持以下假设：性物化确实是导致歧视的常见刻板印象之一。

原创性/价值

本研究提供了关于在观察和评估被告的法医背景下性对象化的新发现。