Gender biases in legal decision-making: an exploration of judicial and public perceptions across multiple offences

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cris.lastimport.scopus2025-02-05T04:10:31Z
dc.abstract.enPurpose The purpose of the paper is to investigate how judges and the general population formulate judgments on legal cases, considering both legal and extralegal factors, with a focus on the significance of the defendant’s sex. Design/methodology/approach The first experiment aimed to determine if non-lawyers’ judgments are affected by the defendant’s sex, using brief excerpts from indictments with the defendant’s sex interchanged. Study 2 aimed to verify if this effect applies to future lawyers, suggesting a peculiar approval granted by men to women displaying illegal sexual behaviour towards young men. Findings The findings showed that the sex of the offender only influenced judgments in sexual offences, with male participants being more lenient towards female offenders. Originality/value The originality/value of the paper lies in its examination of the influence of the defendant’s sex on judgments made by both judges and the general population, specifically focussing on non-lawyers’ judgments. While previous studies have shown that judges tend to be more lenient towards women in certain cases, this paper adds novelty by investigating whether a similar effect is observed among non-lawyers. Moreover, the research sheds light on the relevance of the defendant's sex in cases of sexual offences and identifies a gender-specific leniency towards female offenders, particularly among male participants. The study also explores how this effect might extend to future lawyers, providing insights into societal attitudes regarding illegal sexual behaviour involving women and young men. Overall, the paper contributes valuable information to the understanding of how sex-based biases can influence legal judgments and decision-making processes.
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.affiliationInstytut Prawa
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii w Warszawie
dc.contributor.authorLewandowicz-Machnikowska, Monika
dc.contributor.authorGrzyb, Tomasz
dc.contributor.authorDoliński, Dariusz
dc.contributor.authorKulesza, Wojciech
dc.date.access2023-12-29
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-13T12:00:17Z
dc.date.available2024-06-13T12:00:17Z
dc.date.created2023-10-19
dc.date.issued2024-03-26
dc.description.abstract<jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:title> <jats:p>The purpose of the paper is to investigate how judges and the general population formulate judgments on legal cases, considering both legal and extralegal factors, with a focus on the significance of the defendant’s sex.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title> <jats:p>The first experiment aimed to determine if non-lawyers’ judgments are affected by the defendant’s sex, using brief excerpts from indictments with the defendant’s sex interchanged. Study 2 aimed to verify if this effect applies to future lawyers, suggesting a peculiar approval granted by men to women displaying illegal sexual behaviour towards young men.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Findings</jats:title> <jats:p>The findings showed that the sex of the offender only influenced judgments in sexual offences, with male participants being more lenient towards female offenders.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Originality/value</jats:title> <jats:p>The originality/value of the paper lies in its examination of the influence of the defendant’s sex on judgments made by both judges and the general population, specifically focussing on non-lawyers’ judgments. While previous studies have shown that judges tend to be more lenient towards women in certain cases, this paper adds novelty by investigating whether a similar effect is observed among non-lawyers. Moreover, the research sheds light on the relevance of the defendant's sex in cases of sexual offences and identifies a gender-specific leniency towards female offenders, particularly among male participants. The study also explores how this effect might extend to future lawyers, providing insights into societal attitudes regarding illegal sexual behaviour involving women and young men. Overall, the paper contributes valuable information to the understanding of how sex-based biases can influence legal judgments and decision-making processes.</jats:p> </jats:sec>
dc.description.accesstimebefore_publication
dc.description.issue2
dc.description.physical120-135
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.description.volume14
dc.identifier.doi10.1108/JCP-07-2023-0049
dc.identifier.eissn2009-3829
dc.identifier.issn2009-3829
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/264
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JCP-07-2023-0049/full/html
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsCC-BY-NC
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_REPOSITORY
dc.subject.enjustice
dc.subject.enpassing sentences
dc.subject.ensex of the offender vs the severity of the punishment
dc.subject.enmoral judgements
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleGender biases in legal decision-making: an exploration of judicial and public perceptions across multiple offences
dc.title.journalJournal of Criminal Psychology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle