Cognitive Predictors of Not-Guilty Verdicts in a Simulated Acquaintance Rape Trial

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Abstract
Cognitive predictors, such as relatively accepting attitudes toward forcible date rape, helped identify self-reported sexually coercive college students and were expected to help identify students voting not guilty in a simulated acquaintance rape trial. To test this hypothesis college students self-administered in random order (1) an anonymous sex survey measuring attitudes toward forcible date rape, attitudes toward women, sexual experience, including victimization, sexual permissiveness, and sexual knowledge and (2) a trial survey based on a simulated acquaintance rape trial. Only gender and cognitive variables from the trial (e.g., being male, tending to blame the victim, and uncertainty about one's verdict) identified not guilty verdicts above chance expectancy. Thus, the hypothesis that the cognitive predictors measured here would help identify students voting not guilty in a simulated acquaintance rape trial was not supported.