A control question test oriented towards students

Control Question Tests were altered for 12 of 24 students who were examined with a polygraph about a mock crime which half of them had committed. The altered tests substituted control questions about students' cheating and plagiarism for the standard questions about crime issues. Responses to the altered tests were compared with those from tests using regular control questions which are usually about criminal issues. All tests were conducted by a professor. Detection scores derived from response magnitudes of skin resistance differed between innocent (M = 2.0) and guilty participants (M = -1.9). Guilt and innocence interacted with the type of test. Those examined with control questions oriented towards students scored as more innocent when actually innocent (M = 4.3) than guilty students examined with the student form (M = -3.0) or the crime form (M = -0.8) of the test and innocent students (M = -0.3) examined with control questions oriented towards crimes. The discussion is augmented by results from a direct analysis of magnitude of scores.     

Awareness of crime-relevant information and the Guilty Knowledge Test.

The effects of awareness of crime-relevant information on the detection of deception with the Guilty Knowledge Test were examined. Student Ss were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a guilty group, members of which committed a mock crime; an innocent group aware of details about the crime; or an innocent group unaware of such information. After following instructions, Ss were tested on the polygraph with a 10-item Guilty Knowledge Test and were offered $20 for an innocent test outcome. Skin resistance response scores of guilty Ss lying about crime-relevant information were higher than the scores of innocent informed Ss, whose scores in turn were higher than those of innocent unaware Ss. This replicated findings of an earlier study in which similar procedures were used and supported the view that Ss aware of crime-relevant information can appear less deceptive than Ss lying about crime-relevant information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positions of Truthfully Answered Controls on Control Question Tests With the Polygraph.

Students (N = 120) guilty of a mock crime, innocent and informed, or innocent and uninformed of crime details were examined by polygraph with an altered form of Control Question Test (CQT). Ambiguous, lie-engendering control questions were altered to form clear direct questions answered truthfully. When these control questions were positioned before crime-relevant questions, most guilty and innocent participants were correctly classified. Most participants were classed as guilty when crime-relevant questions were positioned before control questions. Lying to crime-relevant questions in the second position resulted in skin resistance, F(2,108) = 8.2, and blood volume, F(2, 108) = 6.1, responses larger than Orienting Responses to initial control questions. Accurate detection depends on the position of control questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Echocardiography and fatty acid single photon emission tomography in predicting reversibility of regional left ventricular dysfunction after coronary angioplasty

It has often been proposed that young children are not capable of distinguishing mistakes from lies and that they do not discriminate between the reactions that are generated by innocent and negligent mistakes. In our investigation, children aged 3 to 5 years were asked to choose whether a perpetrator had made a mistake or had lied about a food's contact with contaminants and were required to indicate whether this choice would produce a neutral or a negative reaction in the facial expression of a bystander. In this context, many children distinguished mistakes from lies and displayed an incipient ability to discriminate between lies and negligent mistakes that often generate negative reactions and innocent mistakes that do not.     

Unconscious transference and mistake identity: When a witness misidentifies a familiar with innocent person.

Unconscious transference occurs when an eyewitness to a crime misidentifies a familiar but innocent person from a police lineup. In Experiment 1, Ss watched a film of a robbery. Transference Ss saw an innocent bystander in the film, whereas control Ss saw the same film without the innocent bystander. When asked to identify the assailant from a lineup that contained the familiar bystander without the assailant, transference Ss were nearly 3 times more likely to misidentify the bystander than were control Ss. A majority of the transference Ss who misidentified the bystander inferred that the bystander and the assailant were the same person, which reflects what we refer to as conscious inference. In Experiment 2, the unconscious transference effect was eliminated when transference Ss were informed prior to being shown the lineup that the bystander and the assailant were not the same person. Experiments 3 and 4 found that transference Ss inferred that the bystander and the assailant were the same person at the time they first observed the assailant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deception and nondeception in guilty knowledge and guilty actions polygraph tests.

Two polygraph tests, the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) and the Guilty Actions Test (GAT), were compared in a laboratory setting. Men (N?=?120) who committed or witnessed a mock crime were required to answer "no"", to repeat items, or to remain silent in response to items on the GKT or the GAT. A monetary reward was promised for appearing innocent on the test. An interaction with scores based on skin resistance responses showed that innocent witnesses tested on the GKT and guilty participants tested with either the GKT or the GAT scored more in the guilt direction than did innocent witnesses tested on the GAT. Furthermore, participants who were required to say "no"" were more reactive to key items than were participants in the silent group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschoolers' understanding of lies and innocent and negligent mistakes.

It has often been proposed that young children are not capable of distinguishing mistakes from lies and that they do not discriminate between the reactions that are generated by innocent and negligent mistakes. In our investigation, children aged 3 to 5 years were asked to choose whether a perpetrator had made a mistake or had lied about a food's contact with contaminants and were required to indicate whether this choice would produce a neutral or a negative reaction in the facial expression of a bystander. In this context, many children distinguished mistakes from lies and displayed an incipient ability to discriminate between lies and negligent mistakes that often generate negative reactions and innocent mistakes that do not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy and academic success among ethnically diverse first-generation community college students.

A longitudinal analysis of self-efficacy for education and sociodemographic characteristics was conducted among an ethnically diverse sample of first-generation college students (FGS) attending an urban community college. Baseline rates of self-efficacy for education and first-generation immigrant status significantly predicted increased cumulative grade point average at 1-year follow-up. These findings suggest that self-efficacy for education is an important cognitive resource among ethnically diverse FGS attending community colleges, whose immigrant generation status might have an impact on their educational success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imaging of the recurrence of colorectal cancer

'Joy-riding' is the term used, somewhat inappropriately, for the offence of taking a vehicle without the owner's consent. In certain areas, mainly deprived inner-city estates, there has been an increase in this crime. The aim of this study was to investigate its impact on the workload of an inner-city teaching hospital's busy accident and orthopaedic departments. In this prospective study, all patients admitted to hospital as a result of road-traffic accidents (RTAs) were identified during a 9 month period. A total of 1576 patients were admitted to the trauma unit. One hundred and fifty-two admissions were as a result of RTA and 20 (13 per cent) of these patients had injuries as a result of car crime. Of this group, eight were severely injured (ISS > 16) and six of these were innocent bystanders. Three patients (one joy-rider and two innocent bystanders) died as a result of car crime. The average length of hospital stay was 12 days (1-62 days) and the hospital in-patient costs were estimated to be at least 5200 pounds per patient. Injuries related to car crime results in a significant amount of work and financial cost to the National Health Service.     

Effect of feedback of physiological information on responses to innocent associations and guilty knowledge.

Investigated the effects of providing Ss with feedback concerning their physiological responding while they were questioned about (a) innocent associations varying in degree of personal involvement and (b) innocent associations vs guilty knowledge. In Exp I, 48 undergraduates were divided into 3 groups—electrodermal, heart-rate, or no feedback. Ss were then questioned separately about a list of geometric figures, containing one that they had chosen beforehand, and about a list of Social Security numbers, which included their own. Results, based on the relative amplitude of electrodermal responses, indicate that feedback significantly augmented responses to the relevant item as did personal involvement. In Exp II, 26 undergraduates were provided with guilty knowledge about a mock crime while another 26 Ss received innocent associations. Half of each group received electrodermal feedback and half no feedback. Results show significant differences in the responding of guilty and innocent Ss. Feedback increased responding to relevant items in both groups. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do innocent victims threaten the belief in a just world? Evidence from a modified Stroop task.

Two experiments tested whether innocent victims threaten observers' belief in a just world. In both experiments, participants viewed an innocent victim then performed a modified Stroop task in which they identified the color of several words presented for brief exposures (followed by a mask) on a computer screen. When the threat to justice beliefs was presumably highest, color-identification latencies were greater for justice-related words than for neutral words. In Experiment 2, under conditions of high threat, justice-related interference predicted participants' tendency to disassociate themselves from and derogate the victim. These findings suggest that innocent victims do threaten justice beliefs and responses to these victims may, at times, be attempts to reduce this threat. The methodology presented here may be applied to future investigations of defensive, counternormative processes reflecting people's concern with justice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leakage of relevant information to innocent examinees in the GKT: An attempt to reduce false-positive outcomes by introducing target stimuli.

This study focused on the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT)—a psychophysiological detection method based on a series of multiple-choice questions, each having one relevant and several neutral (control) alternatives. The study examined a new method designed to reduce false-positive outcomes due to leakage of relevant items to innocent suspects by introducing target items (i.e., items known to all examinees but unrelated to the crime) to which participants have to respond (e.g., by pressing a key) while answering the GKT questions. Informed innocent participants showed relatively larger electrodermal responses to the critical items than uninformed participants, but not as large as the responses made by guilty participants. No differences between informed and uninformed innocent participants were obtained with a respiration measure. The use of the target items tended to reduce the differences between informed and uninformed innocent participants. The results further demonstrated that electrodermal responding to the relevant items was correlated with memory of these items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Race, arousal, attention, exposure and delay: An examination of factors moderating face recognition.

A large percentage of people recently exonerated by DNA evidence were imprisoned on the basis of faulty eyewitness identification. Many of these cases involved victims and suspects of different races. Two studies examined the recognition of Hispanic and Black target faces by Hispanic participants under nonoptimal viewing conditions. When viewing time decreased, recognition performance for same- and other-race faces systematically shifted downward. Recognition accuracy for faces of both races decreased under conditions of high negative arousal and attention load; however, recognition of same-race faces was differentially affected by attention distractors. Face recognition accuracy was not affected by a delay between initial presentation of the faces and the face recognition test. An understanding of how recognition of other-race persons differs from that of same-race persons can assist by reducing misidentifications and ensuring that the perpetrator rather than an innocent person is imprisoned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

One-at-a-time versus grouped presentation of mug book pictures: Some surprising results.

Eyewitnesses to a simulated crime attempted to identify the perpetrator from a computerized mug book. The 208 mug book pictures were presented either 1 mug shot per page or in groups of 12 mug shots per page. Half of the mug books were arranged by similarity to the perpetrator as determined by a facial recognition algorithm, and half were randomly arranged. In contrast to past findings with photospreads, false-positive identifications were significantly higher using the one-at-a-time procedure than the grouped procedure. Results suggest that the best practice for mug books may be the use of groups of pictures per page rather than the one-at-a-time procedure long advocated by experts for use in lineups and photospreads. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ecological parameters?≠?nonlineup evidence: A reply to Wells and Luus.

The contribution of a lineup identification is in the information it provides about suspect–perpetrator resemblance on top of all other evidence. To assess the diagnostic impact of that contribution, one needs to know the likelihood that an innocent suspect just happens to match the perpetrator in appearance in the way and to the extent inferred from lineup data. Calculating that likelihood calls for statistics about the relative frequency of such a match in the ecology. Therefore, ecological parameters ought to be considered for lineup data just as for other sorts of evidence. Such parameters do not in themselves constitute evidence, but rather serve to estimate diagnosticity of evidence. The index advocated by G. L. Wells and C. A. Luus (see record 1991-07148-001) is actually just a measure of lineup reliability. A way to incorporate reliability in the calculation of diagnosticity is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integrative concepts in modern forensic psychiatry

Forensic psychiatric diagnosis and treatment should be guided by juridical goals and never be an end in itself. As a whole it is a public service concerning the interests of the perpetrators and the security of the entire population as well. Recent progress in forensic psychiatry is based on integral and comprehensive concepts. In the evaluation of criminal responsibility the new approaches of psychiatric diagnosis like operationalism, application of quantificating instruments and multiaxial diagnostic systems are of considerable importance. The ICD-10 classification of WHO can now be regarded as our reference system. To be acceptable for juridical purposes the evaluation of criminal responsibility has to be based on a systematical analysis of all important factors like actual situation of crime, environment, influence of psychotropic substances, psychosocial stressors, influences of biography and mental disorders. Assessment of prognosis is obligatory by law in many cases. These are juridical decisions, which have to be prepared by the psychiatric experts in the form of risk evaluations considering factors like development of delinquency, analysis of crime, kind of mental disturbance, insight of the perpetrator in his disorder, social competence, selfexamination of the perpetrator of his crime, possible therapies and social circumstances after discharge. Only an integral multiprofessional approach can be regarded as successful in the therapy of forensic high risk patients with paraphilas and aggressive impulse-control disorders. In Switzerland there is still a considerable lack of appropriate institutions for these patients. The vast amount of data accumulated during forensic psychiatric routine should be analysed in multicenter studies with scientific documentation systems to achieve progress in forensic risk calculation and efficiency of therapies.     

Do the clothes make the man? An exploration of the effect of lineup attire on eyewitness identification accuracy.

In 3 experiments, 392 undergraduates witnessed staged crimes and attempted to identify criminals from photographic lineups containing a picture of the guilty party or a similar looking but innocent suspect. Lineup attire was manipulated: (1) Only the suspects wore clothing similar to that worn during the crime (biased lineups); (2) everyone wore different attire (usual lineups); and (3) everyone was dressed alike. Data reveal that the rate of identifications of the guilty party was not influenced by lineup attire. However, the innocent suspect was most likely to be identified from a clothing-biased lineup. Data also show that Ss who selected the suspect clothing from photographs of clothing were significantly more accurate in their identification of the person than Ss who failed to select the suspect clothing. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of an expanded-issue (Modified General Question) polygraph technique in a simulated distributed-crime-roles context.

The validity of an expanded-issue control-question technique that is commonly used in investigations was tested with simulations of thief, accomplice, confidant, and innocent crime roles. Field numerical scores and objective measures discriminated between the guilty and innocent groups. Excluding inconclusives (guilty?=?18.1%, innocent?=?20.8%), decisions based on total numerical scores were 84.7% correct for the guilty group and 94.7% correct for the innocent group. There was relatively weaker, but significant, discrimination between the thief group and the other guilty groups and no significant discrimination between the accomplice group and confidant group. Skin conductance, respiration, heart rate, and cardiograph measures contributed most strongly to discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational biases in the attribution of responsibility for an accident: A meta-analysis of the defensive-attribution hypothesis.

Reviews research concerned with motivational distortion in the attribution of responsibility for an accident. Results of a statistical combination of 22 relevant studies suggested a statistically significant but weak tendency to attribute more responsibility to an accident perpetrator for a severe than for a mild accident. An examination of interacting variables found that, consistent with K. G. Shaver's (see PA, Vol 44:6696 and 44:14405) defensive-attribution hypothesis, when observers were personally and situationally similar to the accident perpetrator, they tended to attribute less responsibility to the perpetrator when accident severity increased. The opposite was the case when the perceiver and the perpetrator were dissimilar. Experiments using stronger S-involving manipulations also appeared more likely to produce evidence in support of the defensive-attribution hypothesis than did experiments with low-involvement manipulations. Results provide an example of how perceiver's self-protective motives influence responsibility attributions. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)