The participants in the first study were 143 undergraduate students who were taking sociology courses. The study used a two-by-two-by-two factorial design to examine two actual New York criminal cases. One case involved a restaurant shooting that resulted in two injured employees. The other case involved a mugging that resulted in an assault. The case descriptions also varied by whether the criminal’s emotion was sad or neutral and whether the victim’s emotion was sad or neutral. The study randomly assigned the participants as mock jurors for the eight research conditions. Results of path analyses demonstrated that inferences about the criminal’s identity could explain the jurors’ construals. The second study introduced concrete information about prior records. The participants were 152 undergraduate students who role-played probation officers. They received a presentence report, as well as the other information. Results suggested that identity inferences remained important in forming construals when prior record information was available. The analysis concluded that affective meanings associated with the criminal’s identity significantly influence how mock jurors and mock probation officers make inferences about the crime. Tables, figures, footnotes, and 35 references (Author abstract modified)