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How bad was it? The effects of victim and perpetrator emotion on responses to criminal court vignettes

Publication ,  Journal Article
Tsoudis, O; Smith-Lovin, L
Published in: Social Forces
January 1, 1998

Affect control theory is a general model of how emotions, identities and actions are related in social interaction. In this study, we used affect control theory to predict how the emotions displayed by a perpetrator and a victim during their criminal trial statements influence a juror's judgments about their identities. We then asked how these identity judgments about the perpetrator and victim affect the recommended sentence for the perpetrator. An experiment used undergraduates' reactions in a mock jury setting to test the theory's predictions. Maximum likelihood structural equation models show the influence of both criminal and victim emotion displays in affecting identity inferences about the participants in the crime scene. These identity inferences, as well as inferences about the severity of the criminal behavior itself, determine the sentence recommended for the perpetrator, supporting affect control theory.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Social Forces

DOI

ISSN

0037-7732

Publication Date

January 1, 1998

Volume

77

Issue

2

Start / End Page

695 / 722

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 1608 Sociology
 

Citation

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MLA
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Tsoudis, O., & Smith-Lovin, L. (1998). How bad was it? The effects of victim and perpetrator emotion on responses to criminal court vignettes. Social Forces, 77(2), 695–722. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/77.2.695
Tsoudis, O., and L. Smith-Lovin. “How bad was it? The effects of victim and perpetrator emotion on responses to criminal court vignettes.” Social Forces 77, no. 2 (January 1, 1998): 695–722. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/77.2.695.
Tsoudis O, Smith-Lovin L. How bad was it? The effects of victim and perpetrator emotion on responses to criminal court vignettes. Social Forces. 1998 Jan 1;77(2):695–722.
Tsoudis, O., and L. Smith-Lovin. “How bad was it? The effects of victim and perpetrator emotion on responses to criminal court vignettes.” Social Forces, vol. 77, no. 2, Jan. 1998, pp. 695–722. Scopus, doi:10.1093/sf/77.2.695.
Tsoudis O, Smith-Lovin L. How bad was it? The effects of victim and perpetrator emotion on responses to criminal court vignettes. Social Forces. 1998 Jan 1;77(2):695–722.
Journal cover image

Published In

Social Forces

DOI

ISSN

0037-7732

Publication Date

January 1, 1998

Volume

77

Issue

2

Start / End Page

695 / 722

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 1608 Sociology