The effects of physical attractiveness and influence style on juror perceptions of likability and effectiveness of a white female attorney

This investigation considered the effects of a female defense attorney's attractiveness, her influence style, and juror gender on verdict decisions. Attorney influence style was manipulated by way of an audiotape adopted from Hahn and Clayton (1996). The attorney either relied upon either a high- or low-power influence style. In the low power condition, she was hesitant, indirect, and unassertive, while in the high power condition, she was assertive, dominant, and direct. Attractiveness was manipulated by way of a still photograph. Juror ratings of defendant guilt was the primary measure of influence. Overall, the attractive, low power attorney was more influential with men than women. The unattractive high power attorney, on the other hand, influenced women, more than men while male jurors found her to be the least influential.; Results suggested that women were more open to influence from a non-traditional female target than men were, and men responded more favorably to attractiveness than women did. A study limitation is that attorney gender was not examined. It is not known whether male and female jurors would have exhibited similar response patterns to a male attorney. Additionally, men and women did not respond similarly to the power style manipulation. Future research should further examine the role of participant motivation in mitigating or enhancing reliance upon stereotypes and source cues in a persuasion setting (Fiske, 1993; Monteith, Sherman, & Devine, 1998; Lott, 1985; Petty & Cacciopo, 1979, 1986).; The foundation of the criminal justice system is the presumption of objectivity and impartiality of jurors. Jurors are asked to make decisions concerning the innocence or guilt of an accused based on factual evidence and testimony presented during a court trial. Yet, what may be overlooked is the effects of presentation style and physical attractiveness of courtroom actors, including attorneys, which could influence the weight of importance assigned to testimony including its perceived credibility. Furthermore, gender may complicate matters so that juror and attorney gender interact in complex ways with male and female jurors judging and weighing evidence differently based on whether the communicator is attractive and how the case is argued.