Effects of Victim's and Defendant's Physical Attractiveness on the Perception of Responsibility in an Ambiguous Domestic Violence Case

• NCJ Number: 125722
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1990) Pages: 199-207
• Author(s): D M Burke; M Ames; R Etherington; J Pietsch
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A 2 by 4 by 4 factorial design was used to assess the effects of physical attractiveness in a domestic violence case. The attractiveness of both the defendant and victim were varied along four levels.

Abstract

Subjects were asked to read a domestic violence scenario where pictures of the defendant and victim were varied according their physical attractiveness. Results showed no significant effect of physical attractiveness in a juridic decision-making process in domestic violence. However, there were significant differences between male and female subjects in the sentencing of the defendant. This difference did not hold true for finding the defendant guilty or not guilty. 1 table and 46 references. (Publisher abstract)