Showing papers in "Law and Human Behavior in 1996"
TL;DR: This article examined research and theory on three psychosocial aspects of maturity of judgment: responsibility, temperance, and perspective, and found that the greatest differences are found in comparisons between early adolescents versus middle and late adolescents.
Abstract: To date, analyses of differences between adolescents' and adults' judgment have emphasized age differences in cognitive factors presumed to affect decision making. In contrast, this article examines research and theory on threepsychosocial aspects of maturity of judgment: responsibility, temperance, and perspective. For several psychosocial dimensions of maturity that are likely to affect judgment, the existing pvidence, while indirect and imperfect, indicates that the greatest differences are found in comparisons between early adolescents versus middle and late adolescents. Developmental research on maturity that focuses specifically on mid-and late adolescence, that simultaneously examines both cognitive and noncognitive factors, and that investigates the relation between these factors and the ability to make good decisions is greatly needed.
538 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the extent of attrition in the processing of sexual assault cases in the legal systems, factors associated with attrition at various stages in the process, and the relations between these experiences and recovery.
Abstract: The purposes of this study were to assess (a) the extent of attrition in the processing of sexual assault cases in the legal systems, (b) factors associated with attrition at various stages in the process, and (c) victims' experiences in the legal system and the relations between these experiences and recovery. Our results suggest that substantial attrition continues to occur in the prosecution of rape cases, that more severe assaults are prosecuted more vigorously, that victims are generally satisfied with the police (but not with the legal system in general), and that neither attitudes nor case outcomes are associated with victims' postrape recovery. Research and policy implications are discussed.
312 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the hypothesis that reliable verbal indicators of deception exist in the interrogation context and found that only 3 out of the 18 (16.7%) clues tested significantly differentiated the truthful and deceptive accounts.
Abstract: We examined the hypothesis that reliable verbal indicators of deception exist in the interrogation context. Participants were recruited for a study addressing “security effectiveness” and either committed a theft “to test the effectiveness of a new security guard” or carried out a similar but innocuous task. They then provided either (1) a truthful alibi, (2) a partially deceptive account, (3) a completely false alibi, or (4) a truthful confession regarding the theft to “an interrogator hired for the purpose of investigating thefts” with a monetary incentive for convincing the interrogator of their truthfulness. Results indicated that only 3 out of the 18 (16.7%) clues tested significantly differentiated the truthful and deceptive accounts. All 3 clues were derived from the Statement Validity Analysis (SVA) technique (amount of detail reported, coherence, and admissions of lack of memory). Implications for credibility assessment in forensic interrogations are discussed.
228 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that children were significantly less accurate in reporting the event when questioned with complex, developmentally inappropriate questions rather than simple questions, yet children rarely voiced their comprehension failures, while children interviewed by a warm, supportive interviewer were more resistant to misleading questions about the event than were children interviewed in an intimidating manner.
Abstract: A basic but largely neglected issue in research on the reliability of children's testimony is the impact of certain questioning tactics (e.g., use of legalese and socioemotional intimidation) on the accuracy of children's reports. In the present study, 5- to 7-year-old children were interviewed about a standardized play event with free-recall cues and detailed questions that were specific or misleading. Linguistic complexity of questions (complex or simple) and socioemotional context of interview (supportive or intimidating) were varied between subjects. Results indicated that children were significantly less accurate in reporting the event when questioned with complex, developmentally inappropriate questions rather than simple questions, yet children rarely voiced their comprehension failures. In addition, children interviewed by a warm, supportive interviewer were more resistant to misleading questions about the event than were children interviewed in an intimidating manner. Theoretical interpretations and implications for investigative interviewing and policy are discussed.
207 citations
TL;DR: The predictive validity of the psychopathy checklist-revised (PCL-R) was compared with three actuarial risk scales in a sample of 81 offenders followed for a maximum of 67 months (average of 30 months).
Abstract: The predictive validity of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) was compared with 3 actuarial risk scales in a sample of 81 offenders followed for a maximum of 67 months (average of 30 months). The recommittal or general recidivism rate for the entire sample was 57% (40% for nonpsychopaths, 51.2% for a mixed group, and 85% for psychopaths). The violent reoffense rate was 10% for the sample (nonpsychopaths 0%, mixed 7.3%, psychopaths 25%). All instruments were significantly correlated with general recidivism; however, the PCL-R was the best predictor of violent recidivism. Compared to the actuarial scales, the PCL-R had a higher predictive efficiency (Relative Improvement Over Chance (RIOC)) and yielded fewer decision errors. Most importantly, Factor 1 was a better predictor of violent recidivism than Factor 2, suggesting that the trait construct of psychopathy makes a unique contribution to the prediction of violent recidivism.
197 citations
TL;DR: This paper found that when expert testimony is complex, factors other than content will influence persuasion, but only when the testimony was highly complex and not when the expert credentials had little impact on the persuasiveness of the message.
Abstract: Critics of the civil jury system question whether jurors can adequately evaluate complex expert testimony. Based on current models of research in persuasion, we hypothesized that when expert testimony is complex, factors other than content will influence persuasion. Participants, serving as mock jurors, watched a videotaped trial in which two scientists provided evidence on whether PCBs could have caused a plaintiff's illness. The complexity of the expert's testimony and the strength of the expert's credentials were varied in a 2×2 factorial design. After watching the videotape, mock jurors rendered a verdict and completed a number of attitude measures related to the trial. Overall, consistent with our prediction, we found that jurors were more persuaded by a highly expert witness than by a less expert witness, but only when the testimony was highly complex. When the testimony was less complex, jurors relied primarily on the content of that testimony, and witness credentials had little impact on the persuasiveness of the message.
168 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a regression tree screen that presents actuarial information about violence in a series of yes/no questions and evaluated regression trees and two-stage screening by comparing their accuracies against conventional actuarial methods.
Abstract: This is a progress report on the development of practical methods for the actuarial prediction of violence. The literature indicates that actuarial prediction is more accurate than clinical prediction, but in practice actuarial methods seem to be used rarely. Here we address two obstacles to the clinical use of actuarial prediction methods. First, clinicians may be averse to actuarial methods that require calculations. To remedy this, we developed a regression tree screen that presents actuarial information about violence in a series of yes/no questions. Second, using actuarial methods to identify the small minority of violent patients in a general psychiatric population may be too costly. To remedy this, we developed a method to prescreen patients for intensive evaluation using an inexpensive assessment. We evaluated regression trees and two-stage screening by comparing their accuracies against conventional actuarial methods. The results showed that actuarial predictions based on regression trees and two-stage screens were as accurate as regression-based methods in identifying repetitively violent patients. These easier-to-use methods may therefore be useful techniques for actuarial predictions.
142 citations
TL;DR: In this article, theoretical and empirical challenges to a national trend toward increasingly punitive determinate sentences in juvenile court and automatic transfer of juveniles to criminal court, for homicides and other serious violent offenses are examined, with special attention to adolescents' decision-making by adolescents; characteristics of adolescents who commit homicide; and adolescents' recidivism and potential for rehabilitation.
Abstract: Examines theoretical and empirical challenges to a national trend toward increasingly punitive determinate sentences in juvenile court, and “automatic transfer” of juveniles to criminal court, for homicides and other serious violent offenses. Theory and research in developmental psychology, criminology, and child clinical psychology and psychiatry are examined, with special attention to (a) decision-making by adolescents; (b) characteristics of adolescents who commit homicide; and (c) adolescents' recidivism and potential for rehabilitation. Theoretical support is found for promoting legal responses to adolescent violent offenders that are different from those for adult violent offenders, arguing against determinate sentences based on the offense alone. Empirical support, however, is limited by the lack of relevant systematic research, for which specific recommendations are offered.
113 citations
TL;DR: This article found that repeated post-event questioning can cause eyewitnesses' subsequent confidence estimates to be "artificially inflated" and that there was no difference in the accuracy of the responses to the two sets of items.
Abstract: Two experiments tested the proposition that postevent questioning can lead to later increases in witness confidence without corresponding changes in witness accuracy. After a staged interruption in a college classroom, participants were questioned about the event 5 times over 5 weeks in Experiment 1 (n=57) and 3 times over 5 days in Experiment 2 (n=79). During the final questioning session, the participant-witnesses consistently reported higher levels of confidence for those items that had been subject to repeated postevent questioning than for those items that were asked for the first time, yet there was no difference in the accuracy of the responses to the two sets of items. Additionally, in all conditions the participant-witnesses were generally overconfident in their responses. These results suggest that repeated postevent questioning can cause eyewitnesses' subsequent confidence estimates to be “artificially” inflated.
102 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the hindsight bias in determinations of negligence in Tarasoff-type cases and found that respondents who were informed that the patient became violent would be more likely to find the therapist negligent than respondents in the other two outcome conditions.
Abstract: Examined the hindsight bias in determinations of negligence inTarasoff-type cases. The sample of 297 community residents was asked to read clinical case scenarios involving treatment of potentially dangerous patients. Scenarios varied by outcome: (1) the patient became violent, (2) the patient did not become violent, and (3) no outcome was specified. Respondents rated the foreseeability of violence, the reasonableness of therapist actions, and negligence. It was hypothesized that respondents who were informed that the patient became violent would be more likely to find the therapist negligent than respondents in the other two outcome conditions. Findings supported this, and respondents in the violent outcome condition rated the violence as more foreseeable and therapist actions as less reasonable. Implications for mental health and legal professionals are discussed and future research ideas are suggested.
98 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the use of probabilistic evidence in a fractional factorial design manipulating seven variables: strength of nonstatistical evidence, quantification of nonStatistical evidence; strength of statistical evidence; combination of two pieces of statistics; instruction in use of Bayes' theorem; and presentation of fallacies concerning use of statistical evidences.
Abstract: Mock jurors' use of probabilistic evidence was examined in a fractional factorial design manipulating 7 variables: strength of nonstatistical evidence; quantification of nonstatistical evidence; strength of statistical evidence; combination of 2 pieces of statistical evidence; instruction in use of Bayes' theorem; and presentation of fallacies (both prosecutor's and defense attorney's) concerning use of statistical evidence. One hundred eighty-nine subjects viewed 1 of 16 videotapes presenting a condensed mock trial. Subjects completed dependent measures after each of 4 witnesses and at the end of trial. The strength of both nonstatistical and probabilistic evidence affected verdicts; the other manipulations did not. Overall, subjects slightly underused the probabilistic evidence, as compared to their individualized Bayesian norms, and subjects did not succumb to fallacies. However, subjects greatly varied in over-or underutilization, even after Bayesian instruction. Future research should examine use of weak nonstatistical evidence, and should test different probabilistic instructions.
TL;DR: In this article, both the woman's prior response history (passive, active) and the presence of expert testimony (battered woman syndrome, social agency, no expert control) were manipulated in a homicide trial involving a battered woman who had killed her abuser.
Abstract: The introduction of battered woman syndrome testimony in trials of battered women who have killed has stirred considerable debate within the psycholegal community. Much of the controversy stems from the testimony's focus on the woman's passivity, as well as its partrayal of a single profile of battered women. In light of these concerns, proposals to alter the content of the testimony (e.g., dropping the “syndrome” terminology, focus on battered women's social reality as opposed to their psychological state and reactions) have surfaced. In the present research both the woman's prior response history (passive, active) and the presence of expert testimony (battered woman syndrome, social agency, no expert control) were manipulated in a homicide trial involving a battered woman who had killed her abuser. Overall, participants, drawn from both a university (N=195) and a nonuniversity setting (N=202), rendered more lenient verdicts and provided more favorable evaluations of the defendant's claim of self defense in the presence of expert testimony (either form) compared to a no expert control. Further, these effects were more pronounced for the student than the nonstudent sample. Implications of these findings for the use of expert evidence pertaining to battered women are discussed.
TL;DR: A stratified random sample survey of clinical members of the American Psychological Association was conducted to determine the number and nature of cases involving alleged ritualistic and religion-related child abuse, whether reported directly by children or retrospectively by adults.
Abstract: A stratified random sample survey of clinical members of the American Psychological Association was conducted to determine the number and nature of cases involving alleged ritualistic and religion-related child abuse, whether reported directly by children or retrospectively by adults. Results indicated that only a minority of clinical psychologists have encountered ritual cases, but of those, the vast majority believe their clients' claims. Even so, the purported evidence for the allegations, especially in cases reported by adults claining to have suffered the abuse during childhood, is questionable. Most clients who allege ritual abuse are diagnosed as having multiple personality disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder, two increasingly popular, but controversial, psychological diagnoses.Clinical and legal implications are discussed and a future research agenda is urged.
TL;DR: The authors tested one-person and six-person photographic lineup identifications in field situations either immediately, or 30 minutes, or 2 hours, or 24 hours after a 15-second ordinary encounter with a target.
Abstract: Experiment 1 tested one-person and six-person photographic lineup identifications in field situations either immediately, or 30 minutes, or 2 hours, or 24 hours after a 15-second ordinary encounter with a target. Accuracy of performance was superior in six-person lineups than in showups over time. False identifications of a lookalike innocent suspect were significantly greater in showups than in six-person lineups, especially when the suspect wore the same clothing as the culprit. Experiment 2 followed the same research design as Experiment 1, except that only live showup identifications were tested and, in addition, a physically dissimilar innocent suspect was shown to witnesses. The dissimilar innocent suspect was consistently and correctly rejected in the target-absent showup. Hit rates for live suspects were relatively low over the 24-h retention interval. Correct rejections significantly exceeded false identifications only on the immediate test. The lookalike innocent suspect was readily rejected when different clothing was worn at the test. No significant differences were found in hit scores or in confidence-accuracy scores between live and photographic targets. Confidence-accuracy correlations were significant but low across experimental conditions.
TL;DR: In a separate study, the authors evaluated a scenario of a hate crime perpetrated upon a male or female victim, whether the crime was described as motivated by racial or religious bigotry, heterosexism, or was ambiguous.
Abstract: Male and female young adults provided responses to open-ended questions about hate crimes. Results indicated considerable variability in their definitions, with perceptions of hate crimes differing with regard to demographic characteristics of both victims and perceivers. Victims may experience hate crimes differently because of who they are, why they are victimized, and with whom they share their experiences. In a separate study, males and females each evaluated a scenario of a hate crime perpetrated upon a male or female victim. Whether the crime was described as motivated by racial or religious bigotry, heterosexism, or was ambiguous was systematically varied. The demographic status of the participant appeared to determine how disruptive they regarded the crime scenario, and the likelihood that they would report personal knowledge of a victim of a similar type of assault. None of the participants was likely to report knowledge of a victim of a heterosexist assault. Policy implications of results from both studies are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper investigated the effects of a child witness's age (5, 10, or 15 years old), communication style (powerful vs. powerless), and prosecuting attorney questioning methods (leading vs. non-leading) on perceptions of her testimony in a videotaped mock trial.
Abstract: Two studies investigated the effects of a child witness's age (5, 10, or 15 years old), communication style (powerful vs. powerless), and prosecuting attorney questioning methods (leading vs. nonleading) on perceptions of her testimony in a videotaped mock trial. In Experiment 1, as predicted, ratings of a child witness's credibility were most extreme when the child's communication style contrasted with adults' age-related expectations. Results of Experiment 2 showed that the child's communication style strongly affected perceptions of the defendant as well.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the factors that influence jurors' decisions about compensatory and punitive awards and assess whether, as the law intends, their decisions about compensation are influenced by the severity of the plaintiff's injury but not by the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct.
Abstract: A criticism of the civil jury is that jurors' decisions about damages are capricious and arbitrary. In particular, critics point to the skyrocketing nature of punitive damage assessments as evidence of a system run amok. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence jurors' decisions about compensatory and punitive awards. We assess whether, as the law intends, jurors' decisions about compensation are influenced by the severity of the plaintiff's injury but not by the reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct, and whether assessments of punitive damages are related to the defendant's conduct but not to the plaintiff's injury. Across three cases, mock jurors generally utilized relevant information and ignored irrelevant factors in their decisions about damages. Results are discussed in terms of the extent to which juror decision making comports with legal doctrine.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated whether prior knowledge of crime categories also influences the fact-finding process by operating as an expectancy for information processing and found that prior knowledge plays a broader role than previously appreciated.
Abstract: Jurors have accumulated prior knowledge of crime categories that influences their verdict choices (V. L. Smith, 1991, 1993). The present research investigates whether this prior knowledge also influences the fact-finding process by operating as an expectancy for information processing. Consistent with the expectancy hypothesis, Study 1 demonstrated that people are more susceptible to misleading information that is perceived to be typical of the crime in question than misleading information that is atypical. Studies 2 and 3 revealed that people's intrusion errors also contain more typical than atypical information. These results indicate that people's prior knowledge of crime categories does indeed serve as an expectancy for fact-finding. Thus, prior knowledge plays a broader role than previously appreciated. The implications of this breadth are discussed.
TL;DR: Braithwaite et al. as mentioned in this paper conducted a study of perceptions of the procedural justice of a business regulatory process among 341 Australian chief executives of small organizations and found that the perception of procedural justice perceived by chief executives explains changes in the compliance of the organizations they run.
Abstract: This is a study of perceptions of the procedural justice of a business regulatory process among 341 Australian chief executives of small organizations. Only mixed support is found for the notion that procedural justice perceived by chief executives explains changes in the compliance of the organizations they run. A factor analYsis suggests that five facets of procedural justice--consistency, correctability, control impartiality, and ethicality--can be combined to form a single measure. The decision accuracy facet was not part of the general procedural justice factor. It is just one of these facets, contro~ that is significantlY associated with changing compliance. As the chief executive's perception that they have had some control over the enforcement process increases, organizational compliance improves. The procedural justice measures correlate more strongly with regulatee satisfaction for this regulatory regime than do regulatory outcomes. A significant reorientation of law and social science research has been effected by the social psychology of procedural justice tradition (Lind & Tyler, 1988; Thibaut & Walker, 1975; Tyler, 1990). At root, this intellectual tradition challenges forwardlookingl economistic and rational choice models, with their focus on outcomes. Procedural justice scholars emphasize, in contrast, the effects of the perceived fairness of the processes that lead to outcomes. The idea is that looking back on the fairness of the processes one has experienced might shape future behavior more than looking forward to expected outcomes. Experienced fairness matters more than expected utilities. While this claim remains controversial, there can be no doubt that subjective procedural justice has some capacity to explain Why People Obey the Law? (Tyler, 1990). In this study, we will test the explanatory power of procedural justice in a domain where expected utility has been found to lack general explanatory power (Braithwaite & Makkai, 1991; Makkai & Braithwaite, 1994). This domain is compliance with the quality of care standards mandated for nursing homes by the Australian government. This will enable quantitative testing of procedural justice hypotheses for the first time on corporate as opposed to individual compliance.
TL;DR: For example, in a survey of 50 magistrates and judges in New South Wales, Australia, they were asked via interview or questionnaire about their beliefs, concerns, and practices related to child witnesses as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Concern about the difficulties faced by child witnesses in the legal system has led to two major areas of reform: the relaxation of competence and corroboration requirements, and the introduction of special procedures and physical facilities to reduce the emotional pressures of testifying. Although the implementation of these measures depends largely on judicial discretion, little is known about judicial perceptions of child witnesses and about judicial acceptance of these measures. Fifty magistrates and judges in New South Wales, Australia were asked via interview or questionnaire about their beliefs, concerns, and practices related to child witnesses. There was considerable variability in their views about the competence of child witnesses and the need for special protective measures in court for these witnesses. There was, however, more consensus about those aspects of children's ability to testify that give rise to judicial concerns about their competence. Children's honesty was not at issue; they were generally regarded as being at least as honest as adults, if not more so. They were, however, perceived as highly suggestible and susceptible to the influence of others and prone to fantasy. These findings are consistent with the findings of other studies, and provide a basis for judicial education in relation to child witnesses.
TL;DR: A content analysis of 249 articles fromTime, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, andBusiness Week during 1980-1990 examined the representativeness of popular media coverage of tort litigation as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A content analysis of 249 articles fromTime, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, andBusiness Week during 1980–1990 examined the representativeness of popular media coverage of tort litigation. Compared to objective data on tort cases, the magazine articles considerably overrepresented the relative frequency of controversial forms of litigation (product liability and medical malpractice), the proportion of disputes resolved by trial (rather than settlement), the plaintiff victory rate at trial, and the median and mean jury awards. Psychological mechanisms by which biases in media coverage could affect the decision making of potential litigants are discussed. The results highlight the need for more systematic monitoring and dissemination of reliable data on tort outcomes.
TL;DR: In this article, the distinction between capacity and performance is discussed in light of two research goals: identifying children's capacities relevant to law and identifying the circumstances under which their performance varies.
Abstract: Understanding children's capacities in legal contexts is an urgent priority for psychology and the law. The distinction between capacity and performance is discussed in light of two research goals: (a) identifying children's capacities relevant to law; and (b) identifying the circumstances under which their performance varies. This discussion leads to three fundamental research issues that are explored. First, in addition to general capacity, the effect of specific legal contexts on performance requires investigation. Second, capacities research must take a developmental approach using appropriate, ecologically valid target and comparison samples. Third, legal standards and their inherent developmental assumptions about children's capacities must be operationalized and investigated from both legal and psychological perspectives.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the surprisingly low self-reported standards of proof for reasonable doubt in a trial that either had strong evidence for guilt or favored acquittal, and find that the majority of the juries focused proportionately more on the evidence and less on non-probative issues than juries given other instructions.
Abstract: Eighty (6-person) juries heard 1 of the 5 reasonable doubt instructions in a trial that either had strong evidence for guilt or favored acquittal. None of the instructions produced acceptable criteria of self-reported reasonable doubt, although instructions that informed juries to be firmly convinced (FC) elicited the highest standards of proof. The FC instructions yielded verdicts that tended to correspond with the evidence in both versions of the trial. FC juries focused proportionately more on the evidence and less on non-probative issues than juries given other instructions. Juries had lower self-reported standards of proof when the trial evidence was weak for conviction as opposed to when it was strong. The discussion addresses the surprisingly low self-reported standards of proof.
TL;DR: The authors examined the effects of the defense attorney's presentation style and gender, and juror gender on jurors' verdicts and evaluation of the attorney and witness and found that aggressive attorneys were more successful at obtaining an acquittal for their clients than passive attorneys.
Abstract: Extralegal characteristics of attorneys may play a significant role in the decision-making behavior of jurors. Presentation style, for example, is one factor to which trial lawyers pay a great deal of attention. However, a given style of speech may not be perceived equivalently when used by different speakers. The present study examined the effects of the defense attorney's presentation style and gender, and juror gender on jurors' verdicts and evaluation of the attorney and witness. Undergraduate college students read a brief summary of an assault-and-robbery case, viewed a videotape of either a passive or aggressive male or female attorney interrogating a witness, then rendered a verdict and rated the witness and attorney on characteristics such as competency, credibility, and assertiveness. The results indicated that, overall, aggressive attorneys were more successful at obtaining an acquittal for their clients than passive attorneys, and that male attorneys were more successful than female attorneys; presentation style also interacted with gender of attorney and juror. Some possible mechanisms for these effects are discussed.
TL;DR: For example, the authors found that 5-to 6-year-old children were very accurate in identifying individuals with whom they had prolonged exposure, and were also accurate when asked to identify an individual who was present only briefly, but who was part of a salient aspect of the same event.
Abstract: Thirty-four 5-to 6-year-old children participated in a unique event in which children interacted with 4 individuals-2 for a long period of time and 2 for a brief period only. Each child was interviewed 1 to 2 days later with photographic lineups that contained the target individuals (target-present) or with lineups that did not (target-absent). When tested with target-present lineups, 5-to 6-year-old children were very accurate in identifying individuals with whom they had prolonged exposure, and were also accurate when asked to identify an individual who was present only briefly, but who was part of a salient aspect of the same event. In contrast, when tested with target-absent lineups, children's performance was very poor regardless of whether the to-be-identified individual had been seen briefly or for a prolonged period of time. These data have important implications for eyewitness identification by young children in clinical and legal settings.
TL;DR: The authors found that when lineups were presented by parents, children were less accurate, changed their identifications more frequently, and were more likely to acquiesce with a suggestion about an alternative identification.
Abstract: This research was designed to learn if children's relationships with interviewers might influence the accuracy of their eyewitness memory and their ability to make identifications from lineups. In two experiments, kindergarten children (5-year-olds) viewed a slide show depicting a minor theft. Children were then interviewed by either their own parent or an unfamiliar experimenter with either a target present or target absent simultaneous photographic lineup. When lineups were presented by parents, children were less accurate, changed their identifications more frequently, and were more likely to acquiesce with a suggestion about an alternative identification. Children showed poorer recall of the event when interviewed by their parent in an unstructured interview (Experiment 1); however, no differences were observed when parents and experimenters followed the same script (Experiment 2). Overall, the results indicate that interviewers can influence the accuracy and consistency of children's eyewitness identifications.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether video scene re-creations affect juror decisions by assessing factual retention, emotional state, liability assessments, and damage awards, and found that perceptions of levels of defendant liability are influenced by emotions, but damage awards appear to be based more on factual evidence.
Abstract: Examined whether video scene re-creations affect juror decisions by assessing factual retention, emotional state, liability assessments, and damage awards. 102 mock jurors reviewed case materials from a wrongful death suit in 1 of 3 formats: print (transcripts), videotaped testimony, or videotaped testimony plus video re-creation. Pre- to posttest differences in emotionality were assessed with the Profile of Mood States questionnaire. Retention levels were measured by multiple choice questionnaire. Jurors in the videotaped testimony conditions experienced greater emotional reactions than those who read transcripts. Mood changes were inversely related to liability assessments on the plaintiff but no differences in damage awards were noted. This suggests that perceptions of levels of defendant liability are influenced by emotions, but damage awards appear to be based more on factual evidence. Video scene re-creations may thus be more effective in inducing out-of-court settlements than in actually swaying jurors' decisions.
TL;DR: The experiences and practices of family law attorneys, trial judges, and mental health professionals regarding the involvement of children in contested custody cases were investigated through a systematic and detailed survey as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The experiences and practices of family law attorneys, trial judges, and mental health professionals regarding the involvement of children in contested custody cases were investigated through a systematic and detailed survey. Results revealed that the level and manner of children's involvement was linearly related to a child's age as reported by all groups. Judicial jurisdiction was also related to whether children's wishes were sought and in what manner; specifically, Michigan judges were significantly more likely to interview children using flexible due process than Virginia judges. In addition, interview procedures used by mental health professionals and judges, such as length, making of records, and the presence of other individuals, differed significantly. The amount and complexity of children's involvement suggest that further research is needed to explore these complexities and their effects on children.
TL;DR: The best predictors of GCCT-incompetency in this sample are a diagnosis of either a psychotic disorder or a nonpsychotic affective disorder as well as a low measured IQ, while current symptomatology was not an effective predictor of competency status.
Abstract: Evaluations of the Georgia Court Competency Test—Mississippi Version Revised (GCCT-MSH) and the Competency Screening Test (CST) have supported their use with pretrial defendants in initial assessment of competency to stand trial. The present study evaluated the efficacy of these measures, as well as the Texas Competency Instrument, with an inpatient sample of defendants involved in a competency restoration program. Both measures were factor analyzed in an attempt to replicate previously identified factor structures. Neither factor structure was replicated; however, a distinct factor structure was identified for the GCCT-MSH. The relationships among sociodemographic variables, clinical variables, current symptomatology, and competency status (as measured by the GCCT-MSH) were evaluated using discriminant function analyses. The best predictors of GCCT-incompetency in this sample are a diagnosis of either a psychotic disorder or a nonpsychotic affective disorder as well as a low measured IQ. Current symptomatology, as measured by the SCL-90-R, was not an effective predictor of competency status.