Citation

McKimmie BM, Newton CJ, Schuller RA. Group Process Intergroup Relat. 2004; 7(2): 131-143.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1368430204043724

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The present study investigated whether the impact of expert testimony was influenced by the congruency between the gender of the expert and the gender orientation of the case. Participants (N = 62) read a trial transcript involving a price-fixing allegation in either a male or female oriented domain. Within the case, the gender of the expert was manipulated. As predicted, the impact of the expert (e.g. damage awards) was greater when the gender of the expert and domain of the case were congruent as opposed to incongruent. Results also indicated that the impact of gender-domain congruency was particularly pronounced following group discussion. In addition, there was evidence that this effect was mediated through participants’ evaluations of the expert witness.