Answer

Response to Discussion Board Questions

1.) In the article “Beautiful But Dangerous: Effects of Offender Attractiveness,” how might race influence sentencing decisions? Would race trump attractiveness benefits? Please explain.

By focusing on the article entitled “Beautiful But Dangerous: Effects of Offender Attractiveness” by Sigall Harodl, it can be noted that race can possess a significant influence on decisions relating to sentencing.  When an individual comes from an unattractive race as perceived by the jury, the sentencing received by such an individual can be mild. On the other hand, when a person comes from a race considered attractive by the jury, such a person can receive harsh sentencing.

In my opinion, race would trump attractiveness. When it comes to the cognitive bias of the halo effect, it can be noted that people’s overall impression of an individual influences how they feel and think about the character of such an individual. Perceptions of a single feature can influence how individuals perceive other aspects of such a person. As such, negative perceptions of a given race, would negatively influence how a person from such a race is perceived despite such an individual being attractive.

2.) Why was the media so successful in portraying negative images of Hurricane Katrina victims?

The enormous success of the media in depicting negative images of the victims of Hurricane Katrina can be attributed to negative bias. Negative events possess a greater impact or effect of people’s brains relative to positive ones. The aspect of negative bias or negativity bias possesses a significant influence on individuals’ decisions and behaviour, as well as their relationships. In relation to this, it can be noted that the tendency of people to be attracted towards negative aspects contributed positively influenced people’s decisions to focus on news and negative images captured by the media after the occurrence of Hurricane Katrina, which in turn contributed to media success in portraying such images