Assessing Violence Risk Among Female IPV Perpetrators: An Examination of the B-SAFER

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global problem and one in which frontline assessment and management falls primarily to police. Although IPV is often conceptualized as a male-perpetrated crime, evidence substantiates female IPV perpetration and increased arrest rates, raising important issues for police. This article examines police use of the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER; Kropp, Hart, & Belfrage, 2005, 2010), a violence risk assessment tool for IPV. The B-SAFER was used to assess and manage 52 women arrested for IPV. When compared to Belfrage and Strand (2008), who examined men arrested for IPV in the same sample, women possessed fewer risk factors. Risk factors were related to summary risk judgments, although differences existed between genders and risk judgments were not related to management recommendations. Results suggest that risk factors, in addition to those in the B-SAFER, are required to assess risk for female IPV.     

Media Use and Adolescent Psychological Adjustment: An Examination of Gender Differences

This study examined media use and psychological adjustment (as indicated by depression and anxiety symptomatology) in a sample of 328 14- to 16-year-old adolescents. Primary goals of the study were to explore whether media use differs by gender, whether media use is related to adolescent psychological problems, and whether media use moderates the relationship between parental alcoholism and adolescent psychological adjustment. Adolescents were surveyed in the spring of 2006, and again one year later. Gender differences in media use were observed with boys spending more time playing video games than girls and girls spending more time talking on the phone than boys. Strikingly, none of the types of media examined was associated with depression or anxiety. Moreover, media use acted as a protective factor for boys. Boys who spent relatively more time playing video games and watching television had the lowest levels of anxiety, especially those from alcoholic homes. The opposite pattern emerged for girls.     

On Quantum Propensities: Two Arguments Revisited

Peter Milne and Neal Grossman have argued against Popper's propensity interpretation of quantum mechanics, by appeal to the two-slit experiment and to the distinction between mixtures and superpositions, respectively. In this paper I show that a different propensity interpretation successfully meets their objections. According to this interpretation, the possession of a quantum propensity by a quantum system is independent of the experimental set-ups designed to test it, even though its manifestations are not.     

Two Cultures Revisited: New Widening Gaps

Aristotle continues to be a highly cited author in cultural sciences (human and social sciences) and humanities. In the last two decades, his work attracted up to a hundred times more attention than the work of Konrad Lorenz or Edward O. Wilson, who have attempted to synthesize new knowledge on behavior and society and proposed alternatives to traditional, intuitively appealing, explanations. Aristotle's interpretations of the world, which appear to be intuitive to the human mind, were abandoned in natural sciences upon introduction of the experimental method. Human intuition may have been appropriate in conditions under which it was originally selected: for life of small non-anonymous groups of hunters and gatherers in the savannah. Intuition confines human understanding to a simple reality circumscribed by a boundary that can be called Aristotle's barrier. The barrier may only be crossed by experimentation, which is largely missing in cultural sciences. Snow's concept of two cultures may be revisited to characterize a splitting of natural sciences versus cultural sciences. It may also be applied to a widening gulf between science and technoscience. Diverging of the two cultures may have far-reaching consequences for prospects of humankind's survival.     

Predictors of Children's Electronic Media Use: An Examination of Three Ethnic Groups

Predictors of media use of children from 1 to 12 years old were examined for 3 ethnic groups (European American, African American, and Hispanic American). Data from the Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics representing 1,819 children were used. Models consisting of child characteristics, demographics, family characteristics, and parental well-being predictors accounted for more of the variation in media use (television and video games) by European Americans and Hispanic Americans than they did for African Americans. Generally, variables predicted total use of television similarly for the 3 ethnic groups tested. Parental education predicted use of educational media only for European Americans. Electronic video game use varied almost exclusively by the age and gender of the child. The very different patterns for television and electronic game use suggest that these media may fulfill different functions for children and families.     

Exposure to Violence and Socioemotional Adjustment in Low-Income Youth: An Examination of Protective Factors

Using a sample of 391 low-income youth ages 13–17, this study investigated the potential moderating effects of school climate, participation in extracurricular activities, and positive parent–child relations on associations between exposure to violence (i.e., witnessing violence and violent victimization) and adolescent socioemotional adjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems). Exposure to violence was related to both internalizing and externalizing problems. High levels of participation in extracurricular activities and positive parent–child relations appeared to function as protective factors, weakening the positive association between exposure to violence and externalizing problems. Contrary to prediction, school climate did not moderate associations between exposure to violence and socioemotional adjustment. Further, none of the hypothesized protective factors moderated the association between exposure to violence and internalizing problems.     

Communication Media Preferences in Business-To-Business Transactions: An Examination of the Purchase Process

Although communication in marketing has been researched extensively, communication in buyer–seller exchanges during the sales process has received limited attention. This study examines the complexity of information interchange and buyers’ and sellers’ communication preferences for various media types during each stage of the purchase process. Findings reveal that, overall, buyers and sellers prefer face-to-face and telephone communications over other media types. For certain aspects of the sales process, computer-mediated communications, such as e-mail, serve an important role as a lowcost medium, whereas in other phases of the sales process, richer communication media are preferred by both buyers and sellers.     

The Social Ecology of White-Collar Crime: Applying Situational Action Theory to White-Collar Offending

This article applies the integrated framework of situational action theory (SAT) to white-collar crime causation – previously unexamined in this perspective, drawing also on data from a small-scale study based on semi-structured interviews with white-collar offenders. The key arguments and findings are discussed around SAT’s categories, modified in accordance with white-collar crime particularities: criminogenic propensity, workplace environmental factors, and the individual-environment situational mechanisms. This initial SAT application shows that its constructs can be fruitfully deployed in explaining white-collar crime only to a moderate extent. The findings are not fully supportive of SAT’s “weak law-relevant morality” and deterrence arguments, while SAT’s moral correspondence situational mechanism provides a novel way to explain crimes within criminogenic workplace cultures.     

Liking Violence and Action: An Examination of Gender Differences in Children's Processing of Animated Content

It is widely assumed that children like violence in cartoons, but this assumption has not been supported in existing studies that show nonviolent programs are liked just as much or more than violent programs. The present experiment extended enjoyment of media violence research by testing whether violence and action (independently manipulated) influenced children's liking of slapstick cartoons. We also proposed a path model to test potential indirect effects of violence and action on liking. Using animation software, four versions of a slapstick cartoon were created that varied in terms of violence (present, absent) and action (high, low). A total of 128 elementary school children watched one of the four versions of the program. Violence had no direct effect on the liking of the cartoon, but did indirectly decrease liking for males by decreasing boys' wishful identification with the anthropomorphized characters. Action increased liking for males but not for females.     

Media and Violence: Intervention Strategies for Reducing Aggression

In this article, we review research that explores how the effects of media violence on aggression may be diminished and how media productions may be used to reduce aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Studies show that adults' comments before or during media exposure can reduce the impact of violent programming on children's aggressiveness under some circumstances. Experiments involving more extensive media literacy curricula show that some approaches can alter attitudes toward media violence and, in a few cases, intervene in aggressive behavior. Studies of the impact of antiviolence media productions reveal that although such efforts can be effective, unanticipated "boomerang" effects are prevalent. Overall, the effectiveness of the 3 types of interventions was highly variable, and age and gender differences were prominent. The findings suggest that more research is needed to determine the best approaches to developing parental interventions, media literacy strategies, and prosocial media presentations for reducing youth violence.     

An Examination of the Association between Difficulties with Emotion Regulation and Dating Violence Perpetration

The perpetration of aggression in dating relationships is a prevalent problem among college students. Research that examines factors related to perpetrating dating violence is needed, as this could help guide prevention programming. This study examined how emotion regulation is related to dating violence perpetration among male and female college students (N = 440). Findings showed that the association between broad difficulties with emotion regulation, as well as more specific emotion regulation problems, were associated with dating violence perpetration and could differentiate individuals who had perpetrated and not perpetrated aggression. These findings varied slightly depending on the gender of the perpetrator and the type of aggression examined. Implications of these findings for prevention programs and future research are discussed.     

An Examination of Violence Risk Communication in Practice Using a Structured Professional Judgment Framework

The increased use of violence risk assessment tools in professional practice has sparked the development of best-practice guidelines for communicating about violence risk. The present study examined 166 pre-sentence reports, authored by clinicians and probation officers, to determine the extent to which they are consistent with those guidelines. We examined the frequency with which reports contained information about five topics: the presence of risk factors; the relevance of risk factors; scenarios of future violence; recommended management strategies; and summary risk judgments. Analyses revealed that the topics addressed most frequently in reports were the presence of risk factors and recommended management strategies, but none of the five topics was addressed consistently, completely, or clearly in reports. This was especially the case for probation reports. The findings highlight the need to improve practice through better implementation of guidelines for risk communication. Also needed is research on the extent to which information in risk communications is comprehended, accepted, and used by various stakeholder groups. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Examination of Functional Difficulties From Internet Use: Media Habit and Displacement Theory Explanations

Seminal studies concerning the Internet brought legitimacy to public concerns about its dissocializing effects. Although the negative social and professional outcomes of the Internet are still attributed to the time users spend online, scholars have more recently turned their attention to media habits in explaining these effects. This investigation tests the displacement and media habit perspectives on the consequences of Internet use. Study 1 uses cross‐sectional data to test the displacement and Internet habit positions. The data support media habit theory explanations but find little support for displacement theory. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1 with longitudinal data from incoming college freshmen. Study 3 holds time constant and examines the causal direction between functional difficulties and habit strength     

An Examination of Modern Psychology Through Two Philosophies of Knowledge

Plato was one of the world’s greatest thinkers. The philosophy of knowledge that he formulated has dominated Western thought for about 2,400 years. This article will suggest that Einstein’s philosophy of knowledge, which includes Plato’s philosophy as a limited case, may help us better understand the fundamental problems in modern psychology.

     

Influence of Hostile Media Perception on Willingness to Engage in Discursive Activities: An Examination of Mediating Role of Media Indignation

This study examines the mediating role of media indignation, a set of negative emotional reactions to media coverage perceived to have partisan bias, between hostile media perception (HMP) and its consequences in behavioral willingness, more specifically, willingness to engage in discursive activities. It is examined together with a cognitive pathway through individuals' inference on opinion climate. Data from a web-based survey of university students (N = 696) on three controversial issues were analyzed. Findings showed that the degree of perceived partisan bias in mainstream media coverage on an issue was positively related to the intensity of media indignation and levels of incongruity between one's own opinion and perceived majority opinion. Media indignation in turn had a significant and positive effect on willingness to engage in discursive activities across all three issues, mediating the effect of HMP on behavioral willingness, whereas self-majority opinion incongruity did not. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Social Bonds and White-Collar Crime: A Two-Study Assessment of Informal Social Controls in White-Collar Offenders

ABSTRACT

In two studies, this paper examines age-graded informal social controls (bonds) in white-collar offenders. Using register data, Study 1 compares bonds in a sample of white-collar offenders to a matched control sample, while Study 2 uses probation data to examine bonds within a subsample of white-collar offenders of Study 1. The results show that white-collar offenders, including those who occupy executive positions and those with an adult-crime onset, were characterized by weakened bonds and that early-onset offenders had weaker bonds than adult-onset offenders. Along with the implications of these findings for theory, limitations and directions for future research are presented.     

Media Violence and Social Neuroscience: New Questions and New Opportunities

ABSTRACT— Decades of research have demonstrated that exposure to violence on television can cause increases in aggression. The recent emergence of violent video games has raised new questions regarding the effects of violent media. The General Aggression Model (GAM) predicts that exposure to violent media increases aggressive behavior through one of three primary pathways (arousal, cognitions, and affect). Past psychophysiological research has supported GAM but has been limited to examining arousal-related variables. Recent advances in social neuroscience have opened the door to investigations of exposure to violent media on cognitive and affective components and their neurocognitive underpinnings. Neuroscience tools have the potential to provide answers to the new questions posed by recent advances in media technology.