UC Irvine UC Irvine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Rap Lyrics as Evidence: An Examination of Rap Music, Perceptions of Threat, and Juror Decision Making Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2c6478vr Author Dunbar, Adam Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE Rap Lyrics as Evidence: An Examination of Rap Music, Perceptions of Threat, and Juror Decision Making DISSERTATION submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Criminology, Law and Society by Adam Dunbar Dissertation Committee: Professor Charis Kubrin, Co-chair Professor Nicholas Scurich, Co-char Professor William Thompson 2017 © 2017 Adam Dunbar Table of Contents List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................................... iv Curriculum Vitae ...................................................................................................................................... v Abstract of The Dissertation .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 The Arguments For and Against Rap Lyrics as Evidence ................................................................. 4 Past Research on Rap on Trial .......................................................................................................... 12 Fried (1996) ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Fried (1999) ...................................................................................................................................... 15 Fischoff (1999) .................................................................................................................................. 18 Overview of Dissertation .................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2: The Threatening Nature of “Rap” Lyrics .......................................................................... 25 Stereotyping and Decision Making .................................................................................................... 27 Music and Stereotypes ........................................................................................................................ 30 Study 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 33 Experiment 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 34 Method ................................................................................................................................................. 34 Participants....................................................................................................................................... 34 Procedure and Design ...................................................................................................................... 36 Measures ........................................................................................................................................... 36 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 39 Experiment 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 41 Participants....................................................................................................................................... 42 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 44 Experiment 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 45 Participants....................................................................................................................................... 46 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 48 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 49 Chapter 3: Rap Lyrics and Character Inferences ................................................................................ 54 Rap Lyrics and Person Perception .................................................................................................... 55 Study 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 58 Method ................................................................................................................................................. 58 Participants....................................................................................................................................... 58 Procedure and Design ...................................................................................................................... 61 Measures ........................................................................................................................................... 61 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 64 Effect of Genre on Perceived Songwriter Character ......................................................................... 64 Effect of Genre on Perceived Criminal Involvement ......................................................................... 66 Effect of Genre on Legally Relevant Inferences ................................................................................ 67 Effect of Genre on Perceived Songwriter Demographics .................................................................. 68 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 69 Chapter 4: Rap Lyrics in Criminal Adjudication ................................................................................ 75 Coherence-based reasoning ................................................................................................................ 78 Study 3 ................................................................................................................................................. 81 Methods ............................................................................................................................................... 82 Participants....................................................................................................................................... 82 Procedure and Design ...................................................................................................................... 84 Results .................................................................................................................................................. 87 Pre-test and Post-test Judgments ...................................................................................................... 87 Evidence Integration ......................................................................................................................... 87 Impact of Verdict on Evidence .......................................................................................................... 88 Impact of Evidence on Verdict .......................................................................................................... 90 Coherence Shifts and Likelihood Ratios............................................................................................ 91 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 92 Chapter 5: General Discussion .............................................................................................................. 97 Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 100 Policy Implications ............................................................................................................................ 101 Future research ................................................................................................................................. 103 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................