Search

Experimental research on social perceptions of rape victims has been conducted within the framework of two different models. The first, a naive observer model, is oriented toward how the average person perceives a rape victim and how her character and aspects of her behavior affect these perceptions. The second, a jury process model, is directed toward how these same factors affect decisions reached by a jury in a rape trial. Results suggest that the attempt to follow both of these models in a single experiment, often a common practice, yields ambiguous results. (Author)