The power of presentation: How attire, cosmetics, and posture impact the source credibility of women expert witnesses.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Jones ACT; School of Psychology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.; Repke A; School of Psychology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.; Batastini AB; School of Psychology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.; Counseling, Educational Psychology & Research, University of Memphis, 38152, Tennessee, Memphis, 100 Ball Hall, USA.; Sacco D; School of Psychology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.; Dahlen ER; School of Psychology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.; Mohn RS; School of Education, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.
- Source
- Publisher: Blackwell Pub Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0375370 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1556-4029 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00221198 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Forensic Sci Subsets: MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
Gender stereotypes may negatively affect perceptions of women professionals' credibility, including forensic experts. This study investigated the impact of behavior-based and appearance-based factors on women expert witness's credibility. Jury-eligible adults were shown one of 16 conditions depicting a woman expert which varied based on combinations of three primary independent variables: (1) attire, (2) cosmetic use, and (3) posture. Expert attractiveness and participants' sexist attitudes served as covariates. Results revealed that women experts were seen as marginally more credible when wearing a skirt suit with a closed posture stance than when wearing a pant suit with a closed posture. Secondary analyses indicated expert attractiveness and participant sexist attitudes accounted for the most variability in credibility scores. Credibility of women expert witnesses may be impacted by irrelevant peripheral cues. Findings can inform discussions aimed at mitigating extraneous factors that inadvertently undermine the reception of women expert witness testimony.
(© 2023 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.)