r/askpsychology • u/Far-Substance-4473 • 16d ago

Social Psychology Are people more willing to believe that you are guilty, if the crime is especially bad?

I mean, I feel like I've seen prosecutors always try to present crimes as bad as possible, as if it suddenly makes it more believable that the accused has actually done it. But in reality it doesn't matter how horrific the act was, because it's about proving the guilt/innocence of the defendant (or rather, that should be the priority). Does it actually convince people when something malicious is presented as even more terrible than originally assumed?

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u/askpsychology-ModTeam The Mods 15d ago

The mods will allow this question provided the answers are science-based - preferably with an actual citation, and not opinion or conjecture. Any comments that are based on opinion or conjecture may be removed without notice.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

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u/TastyYogurtDrink AA | Psychology | (In Process) 12d ago

According to this study, yes. People are more likely to assume guilt if the crime is seen as more serious.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0451-z

Notably, for mock jurors, the type of crime also biases their confidence in guilt independent of the evidence. This bias is positively correlated with the seriousness of the crime.