Showing papers by "Aldert Vrij published in 1998"
TL;DR: In this article, a simple selection instrument, namely the victim's psychological condition prior to the victimization, was used to predict a delayed deterioration in post-victimization well-being, and longer term psychological distress, which is manifest ten months after the victimizing incident.
Abstract: The tremendous growth in victim-oriented laws granting various rights to crime victims, which emerged worldwide during the last two decades, has initiated a renewed research interest in the varied aspects of the ’needy victims’ concept. Highly sophisticated theoretical models, indicating various risk factors (e.g. external control, upward relative risk assessments) and protection factors (hardiness, behaviour attributions), were developed to explain which crime victims are in need of victim support. The practical validity of these models is relatively low: at the police level there are simply no resources to conduct lengthy diagnostic interviews with crime victims. This article aims to bridge the gap between sophistication and mundane selection of needy victims. The focus is on a simple selection instrument, namely the victim's psychological condition prior to the victimization. Analyses suggest that low pre-victimization well-being constitutes a central risk factor, predicting a delayed deterioration in post-victimization well-being, and longer term psychological distress, which is manifest ten months after the victimizing incident. The ’traffic light’ model is discussed as a simple selection tool, which might be used during the ’witness’ interview. Such a model may also be used by defense attorneys to examine if clients were appropriately assessed as needing support after describing their experiences to the police. For the prosecutor's office the ’traffic light’ model offers an instrument to predict which victims might benefit from a personal interview with the prosecutor. Some implications of low well-being for studies on repeat victimizations are discussed, inter alia in terms of a potential mood congruence bias, that might result in inflated estimates of multiple victimizations.
20 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined individual differences in persistence in lying, feeling uncomfortable when lying, and finding lying a difficult task and found that being manipulative, being teen on making a good impression on others, being good at con trolling verbal and nonverbal communication, and having an active social life were positively and negatively related to feeling discomfort when lying and finding it difficult to lie.
Abstract: The present study examines individual differences in persistence in lying, feeling uncomfortable when lying, and finding lying a difficult task. We hypothesized that being manipulative, being teen on making a good impression on others, being good at con trolling verbal and nonverbal communication, and having an active social life would be positively related to persistence in lying, and negatively related to feeling uncomfortable when lying and finding it difficult to lie. We also hypothesized that being reserved in social contacts would be negatively related to persistence in lying and positively related to feeling uncomfortable when lying and finding it difficult to lie. A total of 38 college students were thoroughly interviewed by a police detective about the course they study. They were all asked to pretend that they were studying psychology. The number of questions they answered before admitting to not studying psychology was taken as a measurement of persistence in lying. Feeling uncomfortable when l...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review literature concerning the use of lethal force by police officers, evaluate its utility for operational contexts, consider its implications for training and propose that new technological devices can revolutionise the identification of crucial variables.
Abstract: In the current climate of increasing violence against the police, the use of force by police officers has been the focus of much dabate, ranging from the use of non lethal incapacitant sprays to the use of lethal forceI. We review literature concerning the use of lethal force by police officers, evaluate its utility for operational contexts, consider its implications for training and propose that new technological devices can revolutionise the identification of crucial variables.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors hypothesized that caffeine consumption would lead to an underestimation of the offender's aggression, less aggressive feelings toward the offender, and decreased willingness to shoot at the offender.
Abstract: Based on theories of emotions and attributional processes (Schachter, 1964; Zillman, 1978, 1983), this study hypothesized that caffeine consumption would lead to an underestimation of the offender's aggression, less aggressive feelings toward the offender, and decreased willingness to shoot at the offender. To test these hypotheses, 52 police officers in Holland ingested 150 mg of either caffeine or vitamin C and then faced a videotaped Fire Arms Training System simulated scenario. In order to investigate police officers' shooting behavior, the researcher observed the police officers' behavior by scoring the videotapes. Three different types of behavior emerged: "not shooting," "shooting in time," and "shooting too late" (shooting at the offender after he had made his stabbing movement). The officer's impression of the offender was measured with a questionnaire, as was the officer's tendency to shoot. The findings support the hypotheses. The offender made a less aggressive impression on the officers who had consumed caffeine; caffeine consumption resulted in officers' decreased aggressive feelings toward the aggressive offender; and police officers were less likely to shoot at the offender as a result of caffeine consumption.
4 citations