An Open University academic has conducted an intriguing test for the BBC’s Morning Live programme on how the accents of people in a courtroom might influence judges and juries.
Lara Frumkin is a Professor of Psychology at the OU and conducted the test in a short film, one of six OU/BBC films made in co-production with BBC’s Morning Live.
The film states that studies show people can feel discriminated against because of how they speak, both at school and in the workplace and showed how a person’s spoken testimony may affect the outcome of a court case.
A test was designed for a panel of people assembled in a courtroom setting. They are filmed listening to three young men standing anonymously behind a partition taking it in turns to read from the same text.
One has a Yorkshire accent, the second a Black Country accent and the third spoke in received pronunciation (RP) generally known as a southern English accent. See the results here.
Lara, pictured, who has researched the impact of British regional accents on how eyewitness testimony is received during criminal trials, said:
“Working with the BBC team was brilliant. They were able to bring together the panel and mock defendants to show how we make judgements about people based on only their accent.
“This test highlights that in high stakes courtroom settings, we need to focus on whether it is the content of what is said or the accent in which it is said that influences our decisions.”
The six films were commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and are supported by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences with particular relevance to Psychology and Counselling
- Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Director, Broadcast and Partnerships
- Academic Consultants:
Dr Trudi Macagnino – Eco Wins
Professor Gemma Briggs – Distracted Driving
Dr Jim Turner – Changing Your Mind
Dr Sinead Eccles – Brain Health Hacks
Professor Kesi Mahendran – Are You Extreme?
Professor Lara Frumkin – Courtroom Accents
- Media Fellow: Professor Zoe Walkington
- Broadcast Project Manager: Clair Robinson
- Supporting Online Content: Patrick Kearney, Xinmiao Zhang, Matthew Ray and Steff Easom
Supporting Online content:
Visit our Broadcast website OU Connect where you can watch each of the films and find content exploring the films’ themes further.
Picture: BBC Morning Live
