Evaluation Study of Lawyers' Satisfaction with Expert Witness Reports

This study attempted to evaluate the satisfaction of personal injury lawyers with expert witness reports from psychologists and psychiatrists. A questionnaire was sent to 514 civil litigation lawyers and 79 (15.4%) were completed. It was found that most lawyers were satisfied with reports and that there was no difference between the standard and quality of expert reports of psychologists and psychiatrists. Criticisms were limited and focussed on the cost, length and lack of clarity of some of the reports. These criticisms are discussed within the context of the reforms within the legal aid system and it is concluded that expert reports are perceived by lawyers as being reasonably good value for money.     

Understanding of the current police caution (England and Wales)

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (England and Wales) modified suspects' right to silence during police questioning and required a new police caution. The current 37-word caution was introduced after it was found that a proposed 60-word draft version was too complex. The results of the present study show that, although more succinct, the current caution is no easier to explain. Even under optimal conditions, when the participants could focus on each sentence in turn, only 1 in 10 of the general population (n=15), 6 in 10 of A-level students preparing for university (n=72) and 9 in 10 police officers (n=21) demonstrated their understanding by explaining all three sentences correctly. For all groups, the difficulties were more marked when the caution was presented in its entirety, as would happen in real life. The complexity of the caution has serious implications for suspects in police detention. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between the EPI extraversion score and impulsiveness on a perceptual-motor task

This paper describes an investigation of the relationship between extraversion and impulsiveness. These two traits were measured respectively by the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and the IES Arrow-Dot test. The subjects were 50 males and 50 females matched for age. Arrow-Dot impulsiveness was found to correlate significantly with extraversion in both samples. In the female sample Arrow-Dot impulsiveness correlated only significantly with the ‘impulsiveness’ component of extraversion. In the male sample both the ‘impulsiveness’ and ‘sociability’ components of the extraversion factor contributed about equally to its variance.     

Accusations by Adults of Childhood Sexual Abuse: a Survey of the Members of the British False Memory Society (BFMS)

Members of the British False Memory Society (BFMS) were sent a detailed questionnaire concerning accused families and 282 (70%) replied. In this paper the author focuses on the nature, circumstances, and consequences of the accusations for the accused, as well as the role of therapy. The great majority (87%) of the accusers were female and most of the accusations were directed against the biological father. Only four per cent involved stepfathers. Often the accusations were non-specific and not all were reported as being associated with recovered memories. The accusations appear to have arisen primarily within the context of a therapeutic relationship. Depression, followed by eating disorder, were the most common reasons for seeking therapy. Significant relationship problems were reported as the most common stress factor prior to the accusations being made. The author emphasizes the complex nature of the accusations and distinguishes between beliefs and memories within the context of recovered memories. The reported consequences of the accusations were discontinued contact with the family (59%), legal proceedings being instigated (14%), and the accused person having to seek psychological or psychiatric help because of the stress involved (29%). © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Further validation of the Penny Beliefs Scale - Weapons

The Penny Beliefs Scale - Weapons (PBS-W) comprises of 36 items that measure young people’s beliefs about carrying and using weapons. It was designed to facilitate our understanding of weapons carrying and use. The PBS-W has excellent internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha of .92), extremely good test-retest consistency (ICC = .83) and is significantly positively correlated with self-reported delinquency. In order to further demonstrate the utility of the PBS-W it was compared with other measures that would be expected to be associated with weapons carrying and use. The PBS-W, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R-SV), the Maudsley Violence Questionnaire (MVQ), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and the Brief Measure of Sensation Seeking (SS2) were administered to 189 school pupils in South Wales, aged between 16 and 18 years. Results demonstrated that the PBS-W is significantly positively correlated with EPQ Psychoticism (P), violent cognitions, impulsivity, and sensation seeking. Multiple regressions, controlling for gender and impression management (EPQ-Lie), showed that violent cognitions predicted beliefs about carrying and using weapons above and beyond P, sensation seeking and impulsivity. These findings suggest that violent cognitions are the single most powerful predictors of positive beliefs about carrying and using weapons.     

Attribution of blame for criminal acts and its relationship with personality

This paper examines the relationship between some personality variables and attribution of blame by offenders for their criminal activity. A specially-designed ‘Blame Attribution Inventory’ was constructed and administered to 224 Ss who had committed ‘serious’ criminal acts. Factor analysis of the items revealed 3 independent factors: (1) ‘External’ Attribution (i.e. blaming the crime on social circumstances, victims, society); (2) ‘Mental-Element’ Attribution (i.e. blaming responsibility for the crime on mental illness, poor self-control, distorted perception); (3) ‘Guilt-Feeling’ Attribution (i.e. feelings of remorse, regrets, need for punishment). The inventory was administered to 40 offender patients who had completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), the Gough Socialization Scale (GSS) and the Beck Depression Inventory. External Attribution had significant correlation with the EPQ P scale, Mental-Element Attribution correlated significantly with the EPQ L scale and the GSS. Guilt-Feeling Attribution was associated with depression and neuroticism.     

Guilt and self-concept in ‘secondary psychopaths’

Thirty-two male and 25 female ‘secondary psychopaths’ and 24 male and 24 female ‘normal’ subjects filled in semantic differential scales relating to the concepts: Myself as I am, Myself when I lie, Myself if I were to steal, Myself as I would like to be, People who lie and People who steal. The Mosher Morality-Conscience Guilt scale and the Eysenck Personality Inventories were also administered. The psychopaths exhibited significantly higher Guilt scores than the normal subjects and had very poor self-image which was reflected in a constant feeling of guilt, regardless of whether or not they were rating transgression. Normal subjects, on the other hand, only rated themselves as feeling guilty when they violated acceptable norms. The findings suggest that guilt in ‘secondary psychopaths’ is partly related to their high level of trait anxiety and partly to their poor self-concept which may be a reflection of their disturbed family background and the constant disapproval that their behaviour creates. Since guilt in the psychopaths did not markedly increase with transgression it is argued that this may explain why guilt fails to inhibit unacceptable behaviour in some psychopaths.     

The Role of Memory Distrust in Cases of Internalised False Confession

This paper reviews the literature on the role of ‘memory distrust’ in cases of internalised false confessions and provides a heuristic model for understanding the antecedents and mechanism involved. It also provides an in‐depth analysis of two real life cases of ‘suspected’ murders involving six convicted persons, five of whom showed evidence of profound memory distrust regarding the alleged offences. The key factors were coercive interviewing, lengthy solitary confinement, contamination, psychological vulnerabilities (both state and trait) and lack of independent support during questioning. The vulnerabilities in such cases typically involve a combination of cognitive (memory flaws, lack of confidence in memory and failure to invoke distinctiveness heuristic), personality (suggestibility and compliance), health problems and motivational (desire and willingness to assist the police) factors. The two cases suggest that the process of internalised false confessions may be conceptualised in terms of five sequential steps: a trigger, plausibility, acceptance, reconstruction and resolution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.