Jurors’ Judgements of an Autistic Defendant are Influenced by Awareness of Autism, Knowledge of Psychological Conditions, and Trait-Empathy

Blackhurst, Tiegan and Hartley, Calum and Turner, Polly and Warmelink, Lara (2022) Jurors’ Judgements of an Autistic Defendant are Influenced by Awareness of Autism, Knowledge of Psychological Conditions, and Trait-Empathy. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 13 (3-4). pp. 90-101. ISSN 2050-8824

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Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to investigate whether awareness of an ASD diagnostic label, knowledge of psychological conditions, and trait-empathy influence mock-jurors’ judgements of an autistic defendant. Some autistic adults have an increased risk of acting illegally and standing trial as a defendant because of their behavioural and cognitive characteristics. In court, they may display behaviours stereotypically perceived by jurors as indicators of guilt (e.g. averted gaze), potentially resulting in negative judgements. However, if autistic defendants disclose their condition, this may positively influence jurors’ judgements by offering an alternative explanation for their behaviour. This effect may be stronger in jurors who are highly knowledgeable about psychological conditions and empathic. Design/methodology/approach: Non-autistic participants (N = 328; M age = 28.21) read a scenario about a defendant’s crime and courtroom behaviour before judging their character and reporting how empathic they felt towards the defendant. Participants were then informed that the defendant was autistic and provided with information about autism before re-evaluating the defendant. Participants’ empathy and knowledge of psychological conditions, including autism, were measured. Findings: Participants judged the defendant to be more honest and less blameworthy post-label. Trait empathy was positively associated with honesty ratings and higher levels of self-reported empathy. Overall knowledge was negatively associated with ratings for defendant blameworthiness and likeability. Overall, the findings suggest that autistic defendants may benefit from disclosing their diagnosis as this may result in more favourable juror judgements. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider how jurors’ overall knowledge of psychological conditions and trait-empathy may influence judgements of an autistic defendant.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour
Additional Information:
This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2738
Subjects:
?? perceptionsautismempathyknowledgejudgementsjurorspsychiatry and mental healthphychiatric mental healthclinical psychologypathology and forensic medicine ??
ID Code:
178517
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
02 Nov 2022 12:15
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
25 Nov 2024 01:39