Abstract
The aim of this research was to examine how judgment of an aggressive act committed by a North African immigrant woman was influenced by the perpetrator’s acculturation strategies and the participants’ level of social dominance orientation (SDO). Two hundred seven students read a scenario describing a physical assault committed by a North African woman. She was described as having one of four acculturation profiles (assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization). The consequences of the assault were manipulated (low impact vs. high impact). Participants judged both the act and its perpetrator on different dimensions. When the aggressor had not adopted French culture and/or had maintained her original culture, the offense was explained by internal causes and was judged more severely, and the offender was judged more negatively and was perceived as having more masculine characteristics than in the other conditions. These results were particularly true for participants with a high level of SDO. SDO level also affected how participants rated the feminine characteristics of the offender. The acculturation strategy adopted by the aggressor as a factor not directly related to the act and SDO level played a crucial role in the way participants judged a North African woman carrying out a physical assault. The implications and issues of this study are discussed.
Highlights
In a judicial context or in everyday life, different factors are taken into consideration when judging a criminal act and a perpetrator
We investigated the judgments made against a North African woman who carried out a proven aggressive act against a French woman
To investigate the extent to which acculturation strategy affects the judgment of an offender belonging to an outgroup and the perception of cultural distance, we examined the role of Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)
Summary
In a judicial context or in everyday life, different factors are taken into consideration when judging a criminal act and a perpetrator. Two categories of factors can be observed: judicial factors (directly related to the offense, such as the nature of the crime or the consequences for the victim) and extrajudicial factors (with no direct link to the crime, such as the sex of the victim or the offender’s age) (Sabatier & Schadron, 2010) Among these factors, the ethnic origin of the perpetrator and the relationship between his/her original culture and the host culture can have an influence on the judgments. According to the “Subtyping theory” (Richards & Hewstone, 2001), a Dougez et al: Acculturation Strategies and Judgment of a Violent Woman woman who commits a physical assault can be considered as the exception that proves the rule Such an act is seen as being more typical of men than of women. Ethnic origin is another factor that may affect how a woman is perceived in relation to a criminal act and how she c onforms to the stereotype
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