How Does Wearing Makeup Influence Juries?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carlota Batres, PhD Assistant Professor of Psychology Franklin & Marshall College MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Many studies have examined how defendant characteristics influence jury decisions, but none have investigated the effect of makeup. We therefore examined how cosmetics influence jury decisions for young and middle-aged female defendants. We found that participants were more likely to assign guilty verdicts to middle-aged defendants than young defendants and when presented with makeup, male participants gave young defendants longer sentences and middle-aged defendants shorter sentences. MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: That the use of cosmetics can affect jury decisions. More specifically, we found that wearing makeup is beneficial for middle-aged female defendants but detrimental for young female defendants. MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work? Response: Future research is needed to explore the motives behind juror decisions, perhaps through follow-up interviews after a verdict has been reached. MedicalResearch.com: Read the full article
