This research examined naturally occurring causal attributions in sexual assault trial judgments and their consequence (i.e., sentence). Causal attributions were reliably identified and analyzed for how they functioned in the narrative of the judgment. Whether the attributions discursively placed the cause within (internalizing attribution) or separate from the offender (externalizing attribution), described the cause as enduring and pervasive (saturating attribution) or as occurring within a particular context (situating attribution), and described the cause as owing to something violent (eg., a decision to be violent) or nonviolent (eg., being drunk). Results indicated that judges frequently made causal attributions, and the function of the attribution was significantly correlated with sentence (e.g., violent attributions were associated with higher sentence).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adelsward, V, Aronsson, K, & Linell, P. (1988). Discourse of blame: Courtroom construction of social identity from the perspective of the defendant. Semiotica, 71, 261-284.
2.
Antaki, C. (1985). Ordinary explanations in conversation: Causal structures and their defence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 15, 213-230.
3.
Bavelas, J. B. (1991). Some problems with linking goals to discourse. In K Tracy (Ed.), Understanding face-to-face interaction. Issues linking goals and discourse (pp. 119-130). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
Bavelas,J. B., Chovil, N., & Coates, L. (1997). Language in sexual assault trialjudgements. Manuscript in preparation.
5.
Carroll, J. S. (1978). Causal attributions in expert parole decisions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1501-1511.
6.
Carroll, J. S., & Payne, J. W (1977a). Crime seriousness, recidivism risk, and causal attributions injudgements of prison term by students and experts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62, 595-602.
7.
Carroll, J. S., & Payne, J. W (1977b). Judgements about crime and the criminal: A model and a method for investigating parole decisions. In B. D. Sales (Ed.), Perspectives in law and psychology. New York: Plenum.
8.
Coates, L. (1996). Discourse analysis of sexual assault trial judgements: Causal attributions and sentencing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
9.
Coates, L. (1997). Sexual assault in British Columbia: Characteristics and sentencing patterns of these crimes. Manuscript in preparation.
10.
Coates, L., Bavelas, J. B., & Gibson, J. (1994). Anomalous language in sexual assault trial judgments. Discourse and Society, 5, 191-205.
11.
Coates, L., & Wade, A. (1994, July). Use of psychological language in sexual assault trial judgements. Paper presented at the conference of the Canadian Psychological Association, Penticton, British Columbia.
12.
Danet, B. (1980). "Baby' or "fetus"?: Language and the construction of reality in a manslaughter trial. Semiotica, 32, 187-219.
13.
Edwards, D., & Potter, J. (1993). Discursive psychology. London: Sage.
14.
Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and power. Singapore: Longman Singapore.
15.
Harvey, J. H., & Weary, G. (1984). Current issues in attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 35,427-459.
16.
Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: John Wiley
17.
Hilton, D. J. (1990). Conversational processes and causal attribution. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 207-226.
18.
Jenkins, A. (1990). Invitations to responsibility: The therapeutic engagement of men who are violent and abusive. Adelaide, Australia: Dulwich Centre.
19.
Kelley, H. H., & Michela, J. L. (1980). Attribution theory and research. Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 457-502.
20.
Linell, P., Alemyr, L., & Jonsson, L. (1992). Admission of guilt as a communicative project in judicial settings. Journal of Pragmatics, 19, 153-176.
21.
McNemar, Q. (1969). Psychological statistics. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
22.
Nisbett, R. E., & Ross, L. (1980). Human inference: Strategies and shortcomings of social judgement. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
23.
Parker, I. (1989). The crisis in modern psychology and how to end it. London: Routledge.
24.
Parker, I. (1992). Discourse dynamics: Critical analysis for social and individual psychology. London: Routledge.
25.
Potter, J., & Halliday, Q. (1990). Community leaders as a device for warranting versions of crowd events. Journal of Pragmatics, 14, 905-921.
26.
Potter, J., & Reicher, S. (1987). Discourses of community and conflict: The organization of social categories in accounts of a riot. British Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 25-40.
27.
Ross, M., & Fletcher, G. J. (1985). Attribution and social perception. The Handbook of Social Psychology, 2, 73-122.
28.
Ruby, C. C. (1994). Sentencing (4th ed.). Toronto: Butterworth.
29.
Schneider, D. J. (1991). Social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 42, 527-561.
30.
Shaver, K G. (1985). The attribution of blame: Causality, responsibility, and blameworthiness. New York: Springer-Verlag.
31.
Shaver, K G., & Drown, D. (1986). On causality, responsibility, and self-blame: A theoretical note. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 697-702.
32.
Tetlock, P. E. (1985). Accountability: A social check on the fundamental attribution error. Social Psychology Quarterly, 48, 227-236.
33.
Watson, R. (1983). The presentation of victim and motive in discourse: The case of police interrogations and interviews. Victimology, 8, 31-52.
34.
Weiner, B. (1979). A theory of motivation for some classroom experiences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 3-25.
35.
Weiner, B., Graham, S., & Chandler, C. (1982). Pity, anger, and guilt: An attributional analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 8, 226-232.
36.
Weiner, B., Heckhausen, H., Meyer, W, & Cook, R. E. (1972). Causal ascriptions and achievement behavior: A conceptual analysis of effort and reanalysis of locus of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21, 239-248.
37.
Wetherell, M., & Potter, J. (1988). Discourse analysis and the identification of interpretative repertoires. In C. Antaki (Ed.), Analysing everyday explanation: A casebook of methods (pp. 168-183). London: Sage.
38.
White, M. (1989-1990, Summer). The externalizing of the problem and the re-authoring of lives and relationships. Dulwich Centre Newsletter, pp. 5-28.
39.
Wowk, M. (1984). Blame allocation, sex, and gender in a murder interrogation. Women's Studies International Forum, 7, 75-82.
