Graduate Theses

Date of Award

Winter 12-1993

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Supervisory Committee Chair

Gary W. McCullough, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

James Olson, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Pedro Lopez, Ph.D.

Abstract

The current study investigates the effect of the gender of the subject and the gender of the plaintiff on the outcome of a mock medical malpractice lawsuit. Thirty males and twenty-nine females read a transcript from a mock medical malpractice lawsuit, completed a verdict form and answered opinion and recognition questions. The gender of the subjects did not produce any significant results, showing that male subjects did not select significantly different verdicts when compared to female subjects. The gender of the plaintiff did show significant results. The subjects found for female plaintiffs more often than they did the male plaintiff. Explanations of the results, suggestions for future research, and recommendations to attorneys are discussed.

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