Researchers have only begun to assess how jurors evaluate claims of sexual harassment. In our laboratory, we have studied variables that influence liability decisions and damage awards.  Our early research showed that gender difference in liability judgments are moderated by the presence of expert testimony on the factors that increase the likelihood of sexual harassment in the workplace (Kovera, McAuliff, & Hebert, 1999).  We are in the process of studying experts' and jurors' beliefs about the psychological sequelae of sexual harassment, the influence of litigation strategies (e.g., claiming garden-variety damages vs. specific psychological harm) on the size of juror damage awards, and the influence of harassment severity and organizational response to harassment on damages. 

Publications and Presentations

Greathouse, S. M., Levett, L. M., & Kovera, M. B. (in press).  Sexual harassment: Antecedents, consequences, and juror decisions. In J. Lieberman and D. Krauss (Eds.), Psychology in the courtroom.  Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing. 

Kovera, M. B., & Cass, S. A. (2002).  Compelled mental health examinations, liability decisions, and damage awards in sexual harassment cases: Issues for jury research. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 8, 96-114.

Kovera, M. B., McAuliff, B. D., & Hebert, K. S. (1999).  Reasoning about scientific evidence: Effects of juror gender and evidence quality on juror decisions in a hostile work environment case.  Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 362-375. 

Greathouse, S. M., & Kovera, M. B. (2004, July). Effects of litigation strategies on decision making in sexual harassment cases. In L. M. Levett, S. M., Greathouse, & M. B. Kovera (Co-Chairs), Consequences of sexual harassment: Legal and cultural considerations. Symposium presented at the 112th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.

Levett, L. M., Kovera, M. B., & Goodman-Delahunty, J. (2004, July). Clinical psychologists’ beliefs about the sequelae of sexual harassment. In L. M. Levett, S. M., Greathouse, & M. B. Kovera (Co-Chairs), Consequences of sexual harassment: Legal and cultural considerations. Symposium presented at the 112th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.

Levett, L. M, Kovera, M. B., & Goodman-Delahunty, J. (2003, July). U.S. jurors' beliefs about the psychological sequelae of sexual harassment. In R. L. Wiener (Chair), Advances in empirical research on gender and the law: People’s errors and misconceptions. Symposium presented at the Psychology and Law International, Interdisciplinary Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland.