The impact of evidence lineups on fingerprint expert decisions

Forensic examiners routinely compare a crime-relevant mark of unknown origin against a single suspect's sample, which may create an expectation that the two will match. We tested how embedding the suspect's sample among known-innocent fillers (i.e., an evidence lineup) affects expert decision-making. Experienced fingerprint examiners (N = 43) compared crime-relevant marks against either individual suspect fingerprints (i.e., the standard procedure) or arrays of fingerprints (i.e., evidence lineups), with a matching fingerprint either present or absent. Evidence lineups promoted conservative decision-making, as evidenced by fewer correct IDs and a higher rate of inconclusive judgments. Though errors were rare, evidence lineups also occasionally revealed errors that would have otherwise gone undetected. Our findings thus support arguments that evidence lineups can expose fraud, identify flawed methodologies, and curb overconfidence. The potential benefits and challenges of implementing evidence lineups in forensic laboratories are discussed.     

What Principles Are Used to Judge the Fairness of Retrenchment Actions?

The present study identified the bipolar principles that workers use for evaluating the fairness of a broad range of negative organizational events. Two hundred forty-eight respondents were asked to describe recent negative events that occurred in their organizations, and explain the reasons for their fairness perceptions of the events. The responses were coded to yield 5 principles associated with outcome fairness and 8 principles associated with process fairness; this set included principles not found in earlier taxonomies. Support for previous justice models and needed areas of research are discussed.     

Playground Contexts for Aggression for Preschoolers with Hyperactivity

This study assessed the naturalistic conditions that set the occasion for aggressive behavior in three preschoolers with hyperactivity and aggression (H/A). Peer and teacher responses to preschoolers' aggression were also investigated. For a total of 114 aggressive instances observed, relatively low percentages of aggression in social play with at least one other child were documented. The antecedent condition that was most predictive of aggression was (a) when children were seeking to enter into an activity and were denied entry and (b) when another child interrupted an on-going activity. Aggression was about 14 times greater for seeking/interrupted activity than for ongoing social play. Finally, the percentage of negative responses from peers to aggression on the playground was almost three times the rate documented in past research for preschoolers without hyperactivity.     

DRA contingencies promote improved tolerance to delayed reinforcement during FCT compared to DRO and fixed-time schedules

Following Functional Communication Training (FCT), clinicians often gradually expose newly taught communicative responses to delayed reinforcement contingencies to prepare clients for the normative environment in which requests are frequently reinforced after a delay. The introduction of delays may result in the resurgence and maintenance of problem behavior and the weakening of the newly trained communicative response. The current study compared delay tolerance with three individuals diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities when reinforcement for the functional communication response (FCR) was delivered following (a) the passage of time, (b) the omission of problem behavior, or (c) the occurrence of an alternative behavior. We measured delay tolerance in terms of minimizing problem behavior and maintaining efficient FCRs. Outcomes support requiring alternative responding during delays to attain optimal treatment results.     

Common Brain Structural Alterations Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Alzheimer’s Dementia: Future Directions and Implications

Neuropsychology Review - Recent reports suggest declines in the age-specific risk of Alzheimer’s dementia in higher income Western countries. At the same time, investigators believe that...     

Reevaluating Cue Exposure and Response Prevention in a Pilot Study: An Updated Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder

Approximately half of individuals with binge eating disorder (BED) fail to improve when treated with cognitive behavioral therapy; thus, better treatments are needed. Cue exposure and response prevention (CERP) may be one option, but its full potential for reducing binge eating remains unknown because prior applications for binge eating have not utilized the broad range of strategies believed to optimize exposure therapy. The current single-subject AB design investigated the acceptability and effectiveness of a comprehensive CERP treatment among 8 women who met DSM-5 criteria for binge eating disorder. Changes in the number of binges were measured from baseline to the end of treatment, and desire to eat, salivation, and idiographic expectancies of aversive outcomes to food-cue exposure (idiographic CS-US expectancies), including expectancies about ability to tolerate distress when exposed to food cues were measured across the course of treatment. Statistical analysis revealed a significant reduction in the number of binges from baseline to the end of treatment. Across the course of treatment, desire to eat and idiographic CS-US expectancies reduced, and distress tolerance expectancies increased. No participants dropped out and all reported being maximally satisfied with the treatment. Based on these findings, future randomized-control trials with larger samples should examine the efficacy of CERP and mechanisms underlying change with the aim of establishing a more effective treatment for binge eating disorder.