bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Styles of group discussion in computer‐mediated decision making
Authors: Reid Fraser J. M. , Ball Linden J. , Morley Andrew M. , Evans Jonathan St B. T.
Published: June 2011

This study investigated the claim that keyboard‐based computer‐mediated group discussion suppresses normative influence relative to informational influence. In a simulated panel of inquiry presented with computer databases containing inconsistent and incompletely shared information, four‐person groups attempted to reach decisions either in face‐to‐face (FF) discussions or in real time computer‐mediated (CM) discussions via a network linking computers at separate locations. CM groups reported greater difficulty communicating ideas than FF groups and took longer to reach a decision. Contrary to previous research, CM groups exhibited a preference for a normative style of discussion, exchanging proportionally more positional and value statements and proportionally fewer factual and inferential statements than FF groups, but only in the final stage of the experiment. This discussion style led in turn to lower levels of private post‐decision agreement and decision satisfaction among CM groups. Results are discussed in terms of the restrictions imposed by computer mediation on group discussion, and how these combine with other task conditions to determine group goals and discussion style.
Construing a social issue: Effects on attitudes and the false consensus effect
Authors: Bosveld Willem , Koomen Willem , Vogelaar Rijn
Published: June 2011

In two studies we extended Gilovich's (1990) explanation of the false consensus effect (FCE) in terms of differential construal. It was hypothesized that participants holding different positions with respect to a social issue, ‘affirmative action towards women’, would construe that issue in different terms. Further it was expected that the FCE would be affected by that construal. Study 1 provided correlational evidence for these hypotheses. In Study 2 construal was manipulated by providing participants with construals, mentioned by another group of participants. It was shown that participants' own position with respect to the issue was affected by the construals they were provided with, and further that also their consensus estimates were affected by these manipulated construals.
Life review in the context of acute social transition: The case of East Germany
Authors: Andrews Molly
Published: June 2011

Since the collapse of East Germany in 1989, many East Germans have been occupied with Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung (‘working through the past’) in an attempt to gain insight into how and why ‘that which called itself socialism’ was able to operate as it did for 40 years. The opening of the East German Stasi files is one example of the effort to document and analyse the history of the GDR, both at the level of society, and that of individual lives. Using data collected in interviews with 40 citizens of the former GDR, most of whom were active members in the citizens' movements, this article examines the relationship between working through the past of a country and the process of individual life review. Just as societies tend to examine their pasts only when they are already in an acute state of decline, so do individuals tend towards life review when they think the end is near. The argument is made that if this process of evaluation—of both societies, and of individual lives—were conducted as a more integral part of non‐traumatic existence, the potential for benefitting from the review might be greatly enhanced. The loss of their country has stimulated a life review for many East Germans, of all ages. The oldest generation experience life review as a very painful summary of their lives which were dedicated to building a country which no longer exists. For the younger generations, life review has a different function, and offers them a chance to rewrite a blueprint for living. The intersection between life review and Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung, or biography and society, is the central theme explored in this article.
Group immersion and intergroup differentiation: Contextual shifts in categorization
Authors: Long Karen M. , Manstead Antony S. R.
Published: June 2011

Immersion in a social category is associated with greater adherence to group norms, one such norm being a tendency to engage in in‐group bias. It was predicted that psychology students would differentiate more between the category psychology students and engineering students under conditions of high immersion in the former category. Groups of psychology students (task group) performed a group task under conditions of high vs. Iow group immersion, the product of which they subsequently evaluated, together with products allegedly produced by another group of psychology students (in‐group), and a group of engineering students (out‐group). It was found that immersion influenced the pattern of ratings awarded to the three different solutions. In the high immersion condition, the other group of psychology students' product was awarded significantly lower ratings than the participants' task group's solution. Task group products were also rated more positively than out‐group products. In the low immersion condition, in contrast, there was no intra‐category differentiation between task and in‐group products, and both were positively distinguished from out‐group products. Thus when membership of the category psychology students was stressed, there was a strong tendency for participants to differentiate their own task group's solution from those produced by other psychology groups. When emphasis was placed on individual performance, there was unexpectedly strong inter‐category differentiation. These results are discussed in the context of Brewer's (1991) model of optimal distinctiveness, and self‐categorization theory.
Individualism, collectivism and reward allocation: A cross‐cultural study in Russia and Britain
Authors: Tower Rupert Kinglake , Kelly Caroline , Richards Anne
Published: June 2011

A study was conducted to examine the extent to which individualist–collectivist values were endorsed by Russian and British participants and the relationship between these values and allocation of rewards to self and co‐worker in a hypothetical scenario. It was predicted firstly, that the Russians would be more collectivist than the British in their orientation; secondly, that in reward allocation the British would be influenced only by levels of task performance while Russians would be influenced both by task performance and by the identity of their co‐worker as a friend or a stranger; and thirdly, that greater endorsement of collectivist values would be associated with a tendency to minimize personal gain in reward allocation. The first two predictions were supported by the data. In addition, qualitative data from group discussions is used to explain reward allocation decisions and to explore the specific ways in which Russian collectivism differs from British individualism.
Conversing dyads explain the unexpected: Narrative and situational explanations for unexpected outcomes
Authors: Hammer Elliott D. , Ruscher Janet B.
Published: June 2011

This research examined how unexpected outcomes elicit situational and narrative causal explanations in conversing dyads. Although it is well known that unexpected outcomes elicit spontaneous explanatory activity in individuals, the relation between unexpected outcomes and the type of explanations (e.g. dispositional vs. situational) and the ways in which dyads construct causal explanations remain largely unspecified. We proposed that unexpected outcomes would prompt conversing dyads to spend more time discussing situational explanations, to invoke more original situational explanatory factors and to construct more narrative explanations. Moreover, because these explanations were wrought within a conversational context, evidence of dyadic inter‐subjectivity should be found in that dyad members faced with unexpected outcomes should build each other's explanations and ask each other questions of interpretation and verification. Having formed target‐based impressions of a positively or negatively described target, previously acquainted dyads learned of an outcome that was either expected or unexpected with respect to their impressions. Dyads discussed their impressions of the target in front of a video camera, without explicit instructions to construct causal explanations. Predictions were supported, and results are discussed in terms of communication dynamics as well as the spontaneity of situational explanations for unexpected outcomes.
Intergroup contact and desegregation in the new South Africa
Authors: Dixon John A. , Reicher Steve
Published: June 2011

This paper highlights some limitations of research on the contact hypothesis. In the first section, we criticize the practice of describing social intercourse between groups in terms of predefined categories, which tend to void the process of its situated meanings, often reducing it to a quantitative index. Intergroup contact, we argue, acquires meaning within everyday practice and argumentation as individuals try to make sense of others' co‐presence. By disregarding this, researchers have overlooked how lay accounts of contact, and of the nature of the social groups in contact, may accomplish racism. In the second section, illustrating this argument, we examine a recent case of desegregation in South Africa. This concerns the relocation of a ‘black’ squatter community into an area that was designated ‘white’ during the apartheid era. Through discourse analysis of interview data, we identify several constructions of interaction between ‘squatters’ and ‘property owners’. We focus on a set of accounts in which contact was portrayed as a form of territorial invasion, exploring their local rhetorical and broader ideological functions.
Self and group protection concerns influence attributions but they are not determinants of counterfactual mutation focus
Authors: Branscombe Nyla R. , N'gbala Ahogni , Kobrynowicz Diane , Wann Daniel L.
Published: June 2011

The relative impact of differential motivation and knowledge for both counterfactual mutation focus and attributional processes were examined. Functional views of counter‐factual thinking predict that what feature of an event is focused on during mutation is influenced by the perceiver's motivation, and that what is mutated is then perceived as causal of the outcome. Other research, however, has indicated that mutation and attribution are based on distinct processes and that the two are not necessarily correlated. In three experiments we investigated the relationship between target mutation and blame assignment following a negative outcome. As expected, both when a group that one is highly identified with and when the self is involved in a negative event, attributions were biased in favour of the self or the in‐group. Mutation did not, however, show either a self‐ or group‐serving bias. These findings support the view that mutation focus stems from a relatively automatic orientation towards features that may be differentially available to perceivers with varying degrees of knowledge about a domain, whereas the attribution of blame results from conscious processes that permit motivational influences to operate.
How response alternatives affect different kinds of behavioural frequency questions
Authors: Wright Daniel B. , Gaskell George D. , O'Muircheartaigh Colm A.
Published: June 2011

Responses to behavioural frequency questions in surveys and questionnaires form the bases for much social and behavioural research. The choice of response alternatives for these questions can affect responses. By embedding questions in national surveys, we demonstrate that the way in which response alternatives affect responses depends on whether the question uses a vague, an ambiguous or a relatively well‐defined phrase to denote the target behaviour. We explain these results and discuss the implications of our findings for survey research.
Friends, lovers and spouses: Intimacy in young adults
Authors: Eshel Yohanan , Sharabany Ruth , Friedman Udi
Published: June 2011

Intimacy in young heterosexual adults was studied as a function of their familial roles. The 168 males and females employed represented four familial role groups: late adolescents, single adults, married people and parents. Participants were administered two forms of an Intimacy Scale (Sharabany, 1994) in which they described their desired and their obtained intimacy with a same‐sex and an opposite‐sex best friend. Results indicated that (a) intimacy of adults with opposite‐sex partner was higher than intimacy with same‐sex friend. (b) Although no direct effect of familial role on intimacy was found, the married and parent groups displayed greater intimacy towards their spouses than late adolescents and single adults towards their opposite‐sex partners. (c) Women who were late adolescents and women who were married scored significantly higher than men in intimacy. However, single women expressed significantly lower intimacy than single men. (d) Higher intimacy with opposite‐sex partner was associated with a concurrent lower same‐sex intimacy. (e) Satisfaction with other‐sex partner was higher in the married group than in the other groups.
Performance deficits following failure: Learned helplessness or self‐esteem protection?
Authors: Witkowski Tomasz , Stiensmeier‐Pelster Joachim
Published: June 2011

We report two laboratory experiments which compare two competing explanations of performance deficits following failure: one based on Seligman's learned helplessness theory (LHT), and the other, on self‐esteem protection theory (SEPT). In both studies, participants (Study 1: N = 40 pupils from secondary schools in Walbrzych, Poland; Study 2: N = 45 students from the University of Bielefeld, Germany) were confronted with either success or failure in a first phase of the experiment. Then, in the second phase of the experiment the participants had to work on a set of mathematical problems (Study 1) or a set of tasks taken from Raven's Progressive Matrices (Study 2) either privately or in public. In both studies failure in the first phase causes performance deficits in the second phase only if the participants had to solve the test tasks in public. These results were interpreted in line with SEPT and as incompatible with LHT.
Gender solidarity in hierarchical organizations
Authors: Fajak Amanda , Haslam S. Alexander
Published: June 2011

Previous research has suggested that promotion decisions in hierarchical organizations may vary as a function of the decision maker's sex. In particular, it has been argued that women may be more likely to support a same‐sex other than men due to higher levels of identification with their gender in‐group. This paper reports findings from two experiments which examine gender identification and candidate promotion strategies amongst university students (N =116) and public servants (N = 136) in hypothetical organizations which manipulated the participants' personal status and that of their gender in‐group. In the university sample women did identify more strongly with their sex than men. This was not generally the case in the public service sample, although here women with high personal status tended to show greater identification than men in a similar position. However, in both studies there was little evidence that gender identification was associated with preferential treatment of in‐group candidates in promotion‐related decisions. These decisions were generally influenced by norms of fairness qualified by the participants' personal status. Implications for the self‐categorization process are discussed.
On the use of open‐ended measures to assess attitudinal components
Authors: Haddock Geoffrey , Zanna Mark P.
Published: June 2011

The present paper describes open‐ended (i.e. free‐response) measures that have been used to assess the cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of attitude. After defining the attitude concept and outlining the open‐ended measures, the paper describes the results of various studies that have utilized this response format to assess the favourability and structure of attitudes. Each study discussed will also indicate how the use of open‐ended measures led to the generation of research questions that might not otherwise have been possible. The paper concludes by discussing some other domains of attitude research that can benefit from the use of open‐ended measures.
Thinking about one's gender group's privileges or disadvantages: Consequences for well‐being in women and men
Authors: Branscombe Nyla R.
Published: June 2011

Thoughts about group‐based privileges or disadvantages were expected to have different consequences for personal and group well‐being, depending on whether the individual is a member of a high‐ or low‐status group. To test this hypothesis, women and men were randomly assigned to consider the ways that their gender group membership has resulted in either beneficial or detrimental outcomes in their lives. For men, thinking about their gender group's privileges resulted in lower scores on the group‐related well‐being measures compared to women, and thinking about their group's disadvantages resulted in higher personal self‐esteem scores in men compared to women. It is suggested that among high‐status group members, thinking about privilege can evoke guilt and taint one's group image, whereas thinking about disadvantage can augment personal internal attributions for the positive outcomes received. Discussion focuses on the implications that the operation of two types of mechanisms—group‐based emotions and the undermining or augmenting of attributions—has for the responses of high‐ and low‐status group members when their groups are portrayed as exerting either negative or positive effects on their lives.
Being better than some but not better than average: Self‐enhancing comparisons in aerobics
Authors: Van Vugt Mark , Howard Claire , Moss Susanna
Published: June 2011

This field study examined social comparison processes in experimentally created aerobics classes in which performance standards were either uniformly high or low or were mixed. Our general hypothesis was that students of a low‐aerobics standard participating in a class dominated by high‐performing students would seek to make self‐enhancing comparisons to protect their self‐esteem. Given the class composition, however, it was expected they would engage in downward comparison with a specific other (‘better than some’) rather than with a generalized other (‘better than average’). Consistent with expectations, evidence was found that, relative to low‐ and high‐standard students in uniform classes and high‐standard students in a mixed class, low‐standard students in a mixed class compared more frequently with a specific other performing worse. In contrast to other student groups, however, they rated their performance to be worse than average. These findings suggest that people's choice between different self‐enhancing comparison strategies may depend upon opportunities provided by the social comparison context.
Do intentions predict condom use? Metaanalysis and examination of six moderator variables
Authors: Sheeran Paschal , Orbell Sheina
Published: June 2011

This study used meta‐analysis to quantify the relationship between intentions and behaviour in prospective studies of condom use. The effects of six moderator variables were also examined: sexual orientation, gender, sample age, time interval, intention versus expectation and condom use with ‘steady’ versus ‘casual’ partners. Literature searches revealed 28 hypotheses based on a total sample of 2532 which could be included in the review. Overall, there was a medium to strong sample‐weighted average correlation between intentions and condom use (r+ = .44), and this correlation was similar to the effect sizes obtained in previous reviews. There were too few studies of gay men to permit meaningful comparison of effect sizes between homosexual versus heterosexual samples. Gender and measurement of intention did not moderate the intention‐behaviour relationship. However, shorter time intervals, older samples and condom use with ‘steady’ rather than ‘casual’ partners were each associated with stronger correlations between intentions and condom use. Factors which might explain the significant effects of moderator variables are discussed and implications of the study for future research on intention‐behaviour consistency are outlined.
Why and under what circumstances is a hypothesis‐consistent testing strategy preferred in interviews?
Authors: Leyens Jacques‐Philippe , Dardenne Benoit , Fiske Susan T.
Published: June 2011

Two studies examined hypothesis‐consistent questions under goals of information seeking and empathy. In Study 1, observers rated the informativeness and empathy of questions classified as diagnostic or leading, and as matching or not matching a hypothesis (extroversion‐introversion). In an impression formation setting, observers rated both matching and diagnostic questions as especially informative, but in an impression verification setting, they rated leading questions as especially informative. Across settings, matching and leading questions both displayed empathy. In Study 2, participants expected to interview an introverted or extroverted person, under either an information‐seeking or an empathy goal. Interviewers favoured matching questions, especially under an empathy goal. Interviewers also selected more diagnostic than leading questions. Interviewers and observers both consider matching questions informative, with the added benefit of showing empathy to smooth the interaction.
The effects of crossed categorization on intergroup evaluations: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Migdal Michael J. , Hewstone Miles , Mullen Brian
Published: June 2011

Crossed categorization typically refers to the crossing of two dichotomous social dimensions, resulting in four groups (double in‐group, two mixed groups, and double out‐group). This paper reports the results of a meta‐analysis of the effects of crossed categorization on intergroup evaluations. The present effort was able to contrast and evaluate 11 models previously proposed to account for the effects of crossed categorization. The category differentiation (reduction) model received the most support insofar as (a) it rendered predictions of intergroup evaluations that were significant and of moderate magnitude, and (b) these predictions varied as a significant function of the proposed underlying mechanism for the model (the similarity between the categorization dimensions). We discuss the implications of these results for future research on crossed categorization.
Social identity and individual productivity within groups
Authors: Worchel Stephen , Rothgerber Hank , Day Eric Anthony , Hart Darren , Butemeyer John
Published: June 2011

The purpose of the present research was to show how social identity theory can be applied to enhance individual productivity within groups. Three experiments manipulated in‐group identifiability and importance of the group for one's social identity, and compared individual's productivity when working alone to when working in a group setting. The group setting in the first study involved either a collective of unrelated individuals, a group of participants expecting future interaction, or a group working for a group reward. The second study compared productivity in groups with four differing interdependent reward structures. The final study examine the impact of group members wearing a common uniform (vs. no uniform) and the presence (or absence) of an out‐group. Results supported the general prediction that group productivity would be enhanced by factors that increase group categorization and the importance of the group to members' social identities (future interaction, interdependent reward structure and uniform/out‐group present). However, productivity in groups was not influenced by perceptions of the task or identifiability of performance. These findings extend social identity theory by suggesting that group members will increase their in‐group position through individual work efforts.
Cognitive structural models of unemployment and employment
Authors: Green D. W. , McManus I. C. , Derrick B. J.
Published: June 2011

Basing predictions on the concepts of a mental model and social representation, we use a network diagram technique, which is a graphical extension and a statistical development of Lunt's matrix method (Lunt, 1989, 1991), to elicit individual models of the causal factors affecting a person's prospects of unemployment (Expt 1) or employment (Expt 2). Such diagrams comprise both direct paths from a factor to the phenomenon and indirect paths in which the connection to it is via some other factor. As we expected, the representation of unemployment is politicized in a way the representation of employment is not. In both studies, individuals also rated the effectiveness of different actions, based on the diagrammed factors, to affect the target phenomenon. These ratings were best explained by the perceived strength of factor paths rather than simply by the number of paths emanating from that factor. Experiment 2 also showed that the relative importance of direct path strengths in predicting these ratings depended on the order of completing the diagram and rating tasks consistent with expectations derived from the theory of mental models. Finally, using factor analysis and item response theory we show that individual diagrams for employment can be conceptualized as deriving from a single consensual representation. We discuss a view of social representation consistent with these data.
Explaining unfair and fair outcomes: The therapeutic value of attributional analysis
Authors: Lupfer Michael B. , Doan Kelly , Houston David A.
Published: June 2011

What happens when people witness others experiencing outcomes which, they believe, are undeserved? This question was addressed in an experiment that tested the prediction that (a) third‐party witnesses of unfair events, especially those with a strong belief in a just world, experience distress that (b) is reduced if they are afforded the opportunity to explain the causes of the unfair events. Sixteen vignettes that varied in the fairness of their outcomes were presented to 183 participants who expressed either a strong or weak belief in a just world. After reading each vignette, some participants were asked to provide a detailed causal analysis of the event, while other participants were neither encouraged nor given the opportunity to engage in causal analysis. As predicted, only those participants who manifested a strong belief in a just world and who made causal attributions exhibited a reduced level of distress about the event outcomes. Strong believers were not only somewhat more distressed by examples of unfairness but, unexpectedly, by instances of fairness as well. They also reported lower levels of distress following causal analysis of both fair and unfair outcomes. The results suggest that strong believers in a just world, as compared with weak believers, may manifest a distinctive attributional style that is activated when they encounter event outcomes in which issues of justice are clearly implicated. Upon learning about these events and their outcomes, believers in a just world may have a greater need to understand their causes regardless of the fairness of the outcome, experience more distress when prevented from achieving a causal understanding, and show more relief when allowed to do so. No specific attributions (e.g. the influence of others, personal dispositions, God, luck) were found to be more distress‐reducing than others.
‘Anchored narratives' and the interface of law, psychology and semiotics
Authors: Jackson Bernard S.
Published: June 2011

Narrative has become an important paradigm in both psychology and semiotics (Section 1). Three applications of narrative theory to fact finding in criminal cases—Bennett & Feldman (1981), Jackson (1988a, derived from the semiotics of Greimas), Wagenaar (1995; Wagenaar, van Koppen & Crombag, 1993)—are here compared in terms of their conceptions of narrative, application to the courtroom process itself, and epistemological assumptions (Sections 2–4). A recent English case, regarded by some as a miscarriage of justice, is used as a case study to illustrate different approaches from psychology and semiotics (Section 5). The Conclusion (Section 6) considers the potential ‘remediability’ of the courtroom search for truth implied by these various approaches, and the implications of this analysis for the interdisciplinary study of witness testimony and jury research in the ‘normal’ case (where there is no suggestion of miscarriage of justice).
The enhancement of victim empathy among incarcerated child molesters
Authors: Marshall W. L. , O'Sullivan Colleen , Fernandez Yolanda Maria
Published: June 2011

A treatment component aimed at enhancing empathy among child molesters is described and evaluated using a victim‐specific measure of empathy. Twenty‐nine non‐familial child molesters were assessed prior to and immediately after this treatment component. The results revealed a significant improvement in the offenders' scores on the measure of their empathy toward their own victims and in their reports of their own feelings of distress concerning victims of child abuse in general.
Why children think they should tell the truth in court: Developmental considerations for the assessment of competency
Authors: Ruck Martin Dale
Published: June 2011

This study explored the development of children's understanding of telling the truth in court. Ninety‐six children, from 7 to 13 years of age, were presented individually with hypothetical vignettes in which a child had witnessed, or had been involved with a crime and was required to give testimony in court. The vignettes varied in terms of type of crime, whether the child character in the vignette had sworn or promised to tell the truth in court, and type of external influence pressuring the child to withhold the truth in court. Children were interviewed on what the child in the story should say in court and why. Based on the findings a four‐level scale was developed to describe children's understanding of telling the truth in court: level 0 (irrelevant or no response), level 1 (concern with negative consequences to self), level 2 (concern with exhibiting good qualities and behaviour), and level 3 (concern with the laws of society). Younger children were more likely to perceive giving truthful testimony in court as a way to avoid punitive consequences, while older children were more concerned with upholding the laws and rules of society. The findings are discussed in terms of age‐related considerations and applied implications for the legal system with regard to the assessment of competency examinations for child witnesses.
The impact of a statement: More detail does not always help
Authors: Freedman Jonathan L. , Adam Emma K. , Davey S. Adam , Koegl Christopher J.
Published: June 2011

Three studies investigated the effect of the amount of detail in a statement on the impact of that statement on participants' judgements of someone's guilt. When the honesty of the person making the statement was not an issue, over a broad range, more details increased impact. However, when there was some possibility that the person was lying, maximum impact was produced by an intermediate level of detail. It is suggested that similar effects may occur with other factors that ordinarily increase acceptance of a statement.
Empathy and the recognition of abuse
Authors: Thornton Stephanie , Todd Brenda , Thornton David
Published: June 2011

A lack of empathy is commonly seen as one of the central features of sexual aggression but there is little evidence to justify this assumption. Indeed a recent study, Beckett, Beech, Fisher & Fordham (1994), indicated that convicted child molesters showed more emotional empathy, but less cognitive empathy than a non‐offender comparison group. The present study was designed to test the proposition that this finding is not an anomaly but part of a more general trend for empathic emotion to disrupt the learning of accurate perspective taking. Subjects were assessed for levels of cognitive and affective empathy and then their ability to recognize the abusive quality of sexual aggression was evaluated. Paralleling the Beckett et al. finding the present results indicated that recognition of abuse is enhanced by appropriate cognitive skills and habits but disrupted by empathic emotional arousal. The implications of these results for programmes aimed at enhancing victim empathy are discussed.
Extra‐stimulus influences on eyewitness perception and recall: Hastorf and Cantril revisited
Authors: Boon Julian , Davies Graham
Published: June 2011

In a classic study by Hastorf & Cantril (1954), partisan relationships to the viewing of an American football game were shown to be related to personal judgments of culpability for on‐field offences. While this finding has been widely cited as evidence for unwitting, inherent distortion in eyewitness testimony, the study's original purpose and methodology were not congruent to such a claim. A study is presented which draws on the basic paradigm of the earlier work but which attempts to update its methodology with a view to considering the potential implications for eyewitness concerns. This modernized study found that notwithstanding the use of experimental procedures designed to eliminate intentional bias, participants' perceptions were still systematically distorted in favour of their preferred teams. In addition, the findings suggested not only that the participants were unaware that they had made biased judgments, but also, that they rationalized their perceptions with reasons which endorsed and consolidated the partiality of their viewpoints. The results are discussed in terms of the potential for such personally construed processing to influence eyewitness accuracy and the implications for future research.
Memory and interrogative suggestibility: The effects of modality of information presentation and retrieval conditions upon the suggestibility scores of people with learning disabilities
Authors: Cardone Denise , Dent Helen
Published: June 2011

This paper examines the relationship between memory for an event and interrogative suggestibility. Six groups of people with learning disabilities (Full Scale IQ: 53–74) received either a verbal or a visual–verbal presentation of an event and one of three methods of eliciting recall (free recall, specific questions, general questions). It was found that a visual–verbal presentation led to more complete and accurate recall than a verbal only presentation, and that subjects in the specific questions condition gave more complete and accurate recall than subjects in the free recall condition. These results are discussed in the light of related research on questioning people with learning disabilities. Further, it was found that subjects receiving a visual–verbal presentation were less susceptible to the leading questions of the suggestibility scale used than were subjects receiving a verbal only presentation. This finding may call into question the validity of the suggestibility scale as a measure of the reliability of eyewitness testimony. This is because most human testimony is based on visually perceived material while the suggestibility scale presents only verbal information.
Self‐esteem and the perceived obligation to respond: Effects on children's testimony
Authors: Howie Pauline M. , Dowd H. Jill
Published: June 2011

Third and fourth grade children were exposed to a staged event then asked misleading and non‐misleading questions about it a week later. Children were categorized as high or low in self‐esteem using teacher ratings of behaviour in the school setting. Prior to questioning they were given one of two sets of instructions: one conveying a low obligation to respond with specific answers, and the other conveying a high obligation. Children with higher self‐esteem showed greater resistance, less yielding and fewer 'don't know’ responses to misleading questions than children with lower self‐esteem. Children in the low obligation conditions produced more ‘don't know’ responses to misleading questions than children in the high obligation conditions, but there were no differences between instruction conditions in resistance or yielding. There was no evidence that the instructions used in the present study were able to overcome the disadvantage of low self‐esteem children.
Evaluation of a victim's response to an attempted robbery: The effect of victim gender
Authors: Marsh David P. , Greenberg Martin S.
Published: June 2011

This study investigated attitudes towards a victim's response to an attempted street robbery. Participants (N=247) read a brief narrative in which three variables were manipulated in a 3 times 2 × 2 factorial design. The independent variables were (1) victim response (compliance, flight, resistance), (2) victim gender, and (3) victim's possession of a defensive weapon (mace, no mace). It was hypothesized that participants' attitudes would be based on a risks–benefits analysis of the victim's response and that this analysis would be guided by gender stereotypes. Consistent with this reasoning, results showed that compliance by a male victim was judged less favourably than compliance by a female victim, and that resistance by a female victim was judged less favourably than resistance by a male victim. Participants were most approving of the female's behaviour when she complied, somewhat less approving when she attempted to escape, and least approving when she resisted. In contrast, participants were most approving of the male victim's attempt to flee, while approval ratings were about equal when he complied or resisted. Contrary to expectations, possession of a defensive weapon did not influence participants' approval of the victim's response.
Children's experiences of the Children's Hearing System: A preliminary study of anxiety
Authors: Howells Lesley A. L. , Furnell James R. G. , Puckering Christine , Harris John
Published: June 2011

Purpose. This study attempted systematic assessment of children's experience of anxiety before, during and after a hearing within the Scottish Children's Hearing System, together with possible maladaptive effects of such anxiety during a Hearing and causes of any anxiety. It was hypothesized that, firstly, children would experience different levels of anxiety before, during and after the Hearing compared with a comparison group of children who did not attend a Hearing; secondly, anxiety within a Hearing would vary with the age of the child; and thirdly, participation in the Hearing proceedings would also vary with anxiety level.

Methods. Experimental participants were 47 children attending a Children's Panel Hearing. A semi‐structured interview was undertaken and questionnaires administered including the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (for participants up to 12 years), the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (for participants over 13 years), and the Faces scales, all with each participant immediately before and after his or her appearance at a Hearing. Hearings were observed to record behavioural indicators of child anxiety and participation. The questionnaire measures were also completed by a normative comparison group of schoolchildren.

Results. Children attending Hearings experienced higher mean levels of State (transient) anxiety and negative affect, before and during Hearing proceedings. Negative correlations were demonstrated between state anxiety and participation in Hearings by older attenders. Attenders were concerned the Hearing would have a negative outcome for them; specifically, that they would be ‘sent away from home’.

Conclusions. Research using child‐orientated methodology can be undertaken in the Hearing setting. The results suggest children experience anxiety before and during Hearings, with important implications for the preparation and support of child attenders at Hearings.
Intimacy deficits and attribution of blame among sexual offenders
Authors: Garlick Yvonne , Marshall W. L. , Thornton David
Published: June 2011

Intimacy, loneliness and attribution of blame measures were administered to groups of 25 child molesters, 25 rapists, and 25 non‐sex offenders, all incarcerated in an English prison. The results indicated that the child molesters were both more lonely and more lacking in intimacy than were either the rapists or the non‐sex offenders. The rapists were more lonely than the non‐sex offenders and their intimacy scores were also lower than the non‐sex offenders, although this latter difference did not quite achieve acceptable levels of statistical significance. Both groups of sexual offenders attributed more blame to women for the breakdown in a relationship, and the rapists made external attributions and the child molesters made internal attributions for their own problems in relationships. The results are discussed for their theoretical and treatment implications.
Narratives, anchored narratives and the interface between law and psychology: A commentary on Jackson (1996)
Authors: Morley Ian E.
Published: June 2011

Jackson (1996) has used a theory of structural semiotics (based on the work of Greimas) to provide a critique of Wagenaar, van Koppen & Crombag's theory of anchored narrative (and other cognate work). Here, his critique is located within a wider framework of research and theory in psychology and philosophy. I conclude that the concept of narrative has been used both to talk about the practices of sense making and to identify those reflective practices which constitute good thinking. I argue that the work of Wagenaar and his colleagues combines these themes in interesting and important ways. I argue that the work of philosophers such as Goldman (1986) provides a satisfactory epistemological foundation for work in this tradition. It is concluded that, whilst Jackson makes a number of important points, he does not succeed in showing that Greimas' semiotic conception of narrative provides a more useful framework for understanding explanation‐based decision making.
Suicide in Scottish prisons: A methodological note
Authors: Cooke David J. , Michie Christine
Published: June 2011

Fifteen suicides occurred in Scottish prisons in 1994; this appeared to represent a dramatic increase over the rate in previous years. It is argued that rare random events tend to cluster and give the false impression of significant change. In order to determine whether the number of suicides in 1994 was unusually high the number of prison suicides between 1976 and 1994 were compared with a Poisson distributon. Corrections for variations in the size of the prison population and variations in the rate of suicide in the general population indicated that the rise in prison suicides was less dramatic than initial impressions had suggested. The implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Antisocial personality disorder: An evolutionary game theory analysis
Authors: Colman Andrew M. , Wilson J. Clare
Published: June 2011

Purpose. To develop a multi‐person evolutionary game, with population replicator dynamics based on the payoffs of the Chicken (Hawk‐Dove) game, to model Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), and to offer an explanation for the relatively stable prevalence of APD in widely diverse societies despite increasing resources devoted to reducing antisocial behaviour.

Methods. Beginning with a basic two‐person game, a multi‐person evolutionary model is developed. According to the model, changes in the frequency of APD in the population depend on frequency‐dependent Darwinian selection or a form of social evolution that mimics it.

Results. The population evolves to a stable equilibrium with a fixed proportion of individuals habitually behaving antisocially, and with suitable payoffs the proportion of antisocial individuals corresponds to the known prevalence of APD. An unexpected result of the analysis is the finding that the prevalence is necessarily low when the relative gain from behaving antisocially towards a cooperator is very much smaller than the relative loss to the cooperator.

Conclusion. The model provides an evolutionary game‐theoretic explanation for the low but stable prevalence of APD. If the evolutionary mechanism is social rather than biological, then removing increasing numbers of antisocial individuals from society will result in others taking their places, and the population will return to the equilibrium point.
Attitudes towards the mandatory arrest response to domestic battering: Gender and institutional differences from a traditional and a women's university
Authors: Perrott Stephen B. , Miller Yolanda M. , Delaney Mary E.
Published: June 2011

Although a mandatory arrest response to all instances of domestic assault has been increasingly adopted by the criminal justice systems in both Canada and the US, little is yet known about the extent of support for this policy or the belief system which would underlie support. In an exploratory investigation of attitudes related to this policy, 271 Canadian undergraduates were surveyed both from a fairly typical institution and a predominantly women's university. Results showed women to be more supportive of mandatory arrest than men, with this gender difference more pronounced for students from the women's university. The belief system associated with support for this initiative was largely independent of attitudinal measures of authoritarianism, just world beliefs, and pro‐feminist sentiment. Inconsistent with the ideology of domestic violence reform was the finding that both men and women considered situational variables when considering an appropriate institutional response to battering. Results are discussed both in relation to differing levels of political awareness and more fundamental experiential differences between men and women.
Remediating anger and aggression with violent offenders
Authors: Novaco Raymond W.
Published: June 2011

Purpose. Interventions for problems of anger and aggression among violent offenders are in their nascency. An overview of existing studies on anger management with violent offenders is given, along with a discussion of the impediments to anger treatment interventions with such clientele. Articles comprising this Special Section are introduced.

Argument. Conducting anger treatment with persons who are prone to violence is beset with special challenges, especially for patients who have serious clinical disorder and/or who are in secure settings. In part due to these difficulties of treatment implementation, anger treatment research with violent offenders is sparse and controlled clinical trials are virtually non‐existent. Considerably more needs to be done regarding treatment protocol development for application to seriously disordered persons.

Conclusions. Improvements in treatment protocol, the application of an integrated systems approach, and continued acquisition of knowledge concerning intervention implementation will move the field forward. Articles in this Special Section, which present evidence of treatment gains with treatment‐resistant patients, provide direction and encouragement.
Developing programmes for violent offenders
Authors: Howells Kevin , Watt Bruce , Hall Guy , Baldwin Steven
Published: June 2011

Purpose. The objectives of this paper are to review issues arising in the development of intervention and rehabilitative programmes for violent offenders. The scope of the paper is mainly restricted to programmes within prison and correctional settings.

Argument. Relevant literature relating to the development of programmes for violent offenders is reviewed. We argue that a number of preconditions exist for well‐founded programmes. These include an adequate theoretical basis, individual formulation, population needs analysis, breadth of approach, cultural relevance, systemic integration, targeting of programmes and evaluation of outcomes.

Conclusions. We conclude that addressing these issues is likely to lead to improved effectiveness in violence prevention.