326 subjects were randomly assigned to one of four descriptions of a defendant's statuses: adult male, adult female, juvenile male, and juvenile female. Subjects were asked to select type of punishment deemed appropriate for four episodes: shoplifting, drunkenness, murder, and possession/sale of hard drugs. The results provided support for the hypothesis that juveniles and females are treated more leniently for violations. In particular, female juveniles are treated less harshly than the other sex-age categories.
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