ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R

Advances in Psychological Science ›› 2016, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (9): 1353-1357.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2016.01353

• Research Reports • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Celebrity defendant: The effect of the negative image of celebrity on public sentence prediction

YANG Ting1,2; REN Xiaopeng1   

  1. (1 Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China) (2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China)
  • Received:2015-12-31 Online:2016-09-15 Published:2016-09-15
  • Contact: REN Xiaopeng, E-mail:renxp@psych.ac.cn

Abstract:

In the cases when the celebrity is a defendant, the negative image of a celebrity has an effect on public sentence prediction. This was established via survey on public prediction on defendants’ sentence before the trial concerning the case of joint offense including a celebrity with a negative image and a non-celebrity. The results showed (N = 192) that the defendant’s celebrity status had a negative effect on public sentence prediction. The sentence prediction for celebrity was longer than for non-celebrity defendant, with significant gap between the two. The sentence prediction for celebrity accessory was shorter than those for non-celebrity accessory, with no significant gap between the two. In conclusion, in the case of joint offense, if a celebrity with negative image is principal offender, his/her celebrity status will have significant negative effect on public sentence prediction. If celebrity is accessory, his/her celebrity status will have no significant effect on judgment.

Key words: celebrity defendant, celebrity status, celebrity effect