Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to see whether the wording of a story, the sex of the subject, and sex of the person committing a murder would affect the recommended prison sentence. A questionnaire contained a story about a youth committing a murder. The same story was told in three different ways changing the name of the youth in each; one showed the student in a favorable light, one in a negative light, and one in a neutral manner. The sex of the student was changed, and the sex of the participant was also studied. Subjects were asked to sentence the youth. It was hypothesized that the favorable account would elicit a more lenient prison sentence than the neutral account or negative account, also that the women would be more lenient and that female murderers would be treated more leniently. The design was a 2 × 2 × 3 mixed design. The hypothesis for wording of the story was confirmed. Sex of subject and of murderer were not significant. It was concluded that the wording of a story affects subjects' judgment. Further research should be conducted.
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