Publication Date
Fall 12-2-2025
Degree Level
B.A.
Program
Honors
First Advisor
Tanya Grant Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Camille Langston Ph.D.
Document Type
Thesis
Medium
Manuscript
Abstract
Sexual violence remains a contentious public safety and legal challenge, which has become further complicated by the tension between supporting victim-survivors and safeguarding the falsely accused. False accusations, though still well below the numbers of rightly accused, are experiencing a rise in popularity given recent (past ten years) political climates. This thesis examines how communication theory, neuroscience, and law intersect in molding perceptions of truth, culpability, and justice in sexual violence cases; while also examining the intersectionality of those fields in addressing the candor of allegations, the rate of recidivism, and quality of public health and safety. The most prominent argument suggests that advances in neuroscience—particularly brain imaging (fMRI scans) and empathy-related activation assessments—offer novel tools for understanding credibility and moral responsibility, but they risk misinterpretation when presented to jurors unfamiliar with scientific limits. Because of this, most jurors who view neurological testimony conflate the evaluation of guilt with an assessment of behavioral likelihood. This project synthesizes contemporary research on juror schema biases, restorative justice frameworks, and neurolaw’s promise of humanitarian reform to suggest a better method of constructing the Pre-Sentencing Investigative (PSI) reports for judges to use in evaluating a defendant’s recidivism rate. By analyzing sources across Psychology, Sociology, Law, and Neuroscience, this thesis argues for a biopsychosocial model that prioritizes restorative justice grounded in cognitive empathy rehabilitation.
Recommended Citation
Gonzales, Samantha, "Empathy on Trial: The Role of Neuroscience and Communication in Sexual violence Jurisprudence" (2025). Honors Program Theses and Research Projects. 81.
https://commons.stmarytx.edu/honorstheses/81
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Cognitive Psychology Commons, Cognitive Science Commons, Communication Commons, Communications Law Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Law and Philosophy Commons, Law and Psychology Commons, Law and Society Commons