Community members' perceptions of evidence: The effects of gender in a recovered memory civil trial

Community members judged a civil trial in which a memory had either been re covered or kept secret until therapy 12 years later. Female jurors were mor e likely to find the defendant liable and to compensate female plaintiffs m ore than male plaintiffs, whereas the reverse pattern held for male jurors. Female plaintiffs who reported recovered memories were compensated least, whereas female plaintiffs who kept the abuse secret were compensated most. A mediational model was posited and results indicated that the origin of th e memory of sexual abuse and victim gender influenced assessments of trial testimonies that were related to the trial outcomes. Results supported the postulated model and indicated significant juror-gender differences in eval uating and weighing the evidence.