"The Effects of Forgetting and Disclosure on Mock Jurors' Perceptions o" by Johnathan Meier

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3753-9917

Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Elisa Krackow

Committee Member

Elizabeth Levelle

Committee Member

Amy Fiske

Abstract

Memory recall and forgetting is a complex process. Memories can be completely forgotten (e.g., Ebbinghaus, 1885/1964; Murre, 2015) or repressed and recovered at a later time (e.g., Key et al., 1996; Foster-Lee et al., 1999). Instances of sexual assault may be disclosed to a close acquaintance or medical professional at the time of the event or kept secret until the time of reporting to authorities (e.g., Pica et al., 2020a). In the current study, mock jurors’ perceptions of credibility and guilt, as well as the amount of compensation awarded to the plaintiff, will be assessed in response to testimony depicting variations of memory recall (i.e., complete, forgotten-inferred, or forgotten), and disclosure (i.e., disclosed or not disclosed) immediately after the assault was assessed using data collected from voluntary MTurk users. No outcome variables within this study reached statistical significance, indicating minimal memory recall and disclosure influence on jurors’ perceptions of rape. Despite non-significant results, essential implications of the findings are discussed alongside future research direction.

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS