Irene Wants to Examine the Effect of a Defendant's Appearance

Multiple Choice

Irene wants to examine the effect of a defendant's appearance on the judgment of guilt for a crime. She has participants read an identical account of the crime except for the defendant's appearance. A group of high school students receive the description of an attractive defendant, while a group of senior citizens receive the description of an unattractive defendant. Both groups are then asked to rate the defendant's guilt on a seven-point scale. A major cause for confusion in Madison's experiment is the _____.

A) manipulation of appearance
B) measure of guilt
C) description of the crime
D) age of the participants