Kerr, N. L., Bull, R., MacCoun, R. J., & Rathborn, H. (1985). Effects of victim attractiveness, care, and disfigurement on the judgements of American and British mock jurors. British Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 47-58.

Used an experimental juror simulation to examine the effects on mock jurors' verdicts of 3 victim characteristics--facial disfigurement, precautiousness, and physical attractiveness. 186 American undergraduates and 96 British undergraduates independently read an alleged trial transcript and were asked to report their personal verdict preferences. Findings reveal that, except when the victim was both unattractive and previously disfigured, the defendant was less likely to be convicted when the victim took every reasonable precaution to avoid the crime than when the victim took no such precautions. Results are consistent with M. Lerner's (1980) just-world theory and the principle of comparative negligence. When the victim took every reasonable precaution but was still hurt in a freakish accident, Ss restored justice by derogating the victim and/or devaluating her suffering. The degree of harm done to the victim was a key mediator of victim characteristic effects. The effects on verdicts were also related to Ss' verdict criteria (standards of reasonable doubt) and their perceived costs of committing the Type II juridic error (acquitting a guilty defendant). Although several cross-cultural differences were obtained, the effects of the victim characteristics on Ss' verdicts were identical for the British and American samples.