The Relationship Between Empathy and Stringency of Punishment in Mock Jurors

Mattias Per Sjöberg

doi:10.5334/jeps.cr

The Relationship Between Empathy and Stringency of Punishment in Mock Jurors

Journal of European Psychology Students

Volume 6 (2015): Issue 1

By: Mattias Per Sjöberg

Open Access

|May 2015

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between empathy and stringency of punishment in mock jurors. 291 law and non-law students (123 male, 166 female) participated in the study. Participants first read a court case explaining that the defendant was found guilty of aggravated assault. Participants then made a sentencing decision for the defendant and later answered the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). The results revealed a significant negative correlation between overall empathy and stringency of punishment. Two of the four sub-scales of the IRI (perspective taking and empathic concern) were of interest in the current study, and as hypothesized each showed a significant negative correlation with stringency of punishment.

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