The impact of developmental language disorder in a defendant's description on mock jurors' perceptions and judgements.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While it has been posited that young people with language needs may be viewed more negatively (e.g., as more rude, less cooperative) than those without language needs, the impact of knowing about a person's language needs on others' perceptions has yet to experimentally tested.

Aims

To examine whether the presence of a developmental language disorder (DLD) diagnosis in a defendant's information would affect mock juror ratings of guilt, sentence length, credibility and blameworthiness.

Methods & procedures

A total of 143 jury eligible participants read a vignette of a non-violent crime. Half of the participants (N = 73) were told the defendant has a diagnosis of DLD, while half (N = 70) were not told.

Outcomes & results

Preregistered analyses found th

SUBMITTER: Hobson HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10087868 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature