Predicting sexual aggression: the role of pornography in the context of general and specific risk factors

The main focus of the present study was to examine the unique contribution (if any) of pornography consumption to men's sexually aggressive behavior. Even after controlling for the contributions of risk factors associated with general antisocial behavior and those used in Confluence Model research as specific predictors of sexual aggression, we found that high pornography consumption added significantly to the prediction of sexual aggression. Further analyses revealed that the predictive utility of pornography was due to its discriminative ability only among men classified (based on their other risk characteristics) at relatively high risk for sexual aggression. Other analyses indicated that the specific risk factors accounted for more variance in sexual aggression than the general risk factors and mediated the association between the general risk factors and sexual aggression. We illustrate the potential application of the findings for risk assessment using a classification tree.     

Group-directed criticisms and recommendations for change: why newcomers arouse more resistance than old-timers

Three experiments examine the extent to which newcomers are able to influence their groups relative to old-timers. Specifically, how group members respond to criticisms of their group was assessed as a function of the intragroup position of the speaker. When criticizing their workplace (Experiment 1; N = 116), their profession (Experiment 2; N = 106), or an Internet community (Experiment 3; N = 189), newcomers aroused more resistance than old-timers, an effect that was mediated by perceptions of how attached critics were to their group identity. Experiment 3 also showed that newcomers could reduce resistance to their criticisms by distancing themselves from a group of which they were previously members. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

No War, No Peace: Northern Ireland after the Agreement

In 1998 a historic agreement, commonly known as the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement, formed the basis of a negotiated settlement for the future of Northern Ireland. Since that time the level of violence in Northern Ireland has reduced but many problematic issues related to governance, sectarianism, and community relations remain on the political agenda and have destabilized the post-peace accord environment. Many of these issues can be viewed as either causes or consequences of the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland. This special issue examines some of these issues from a political psychology perspective. Economic, political, social, and psychological factors that have supported and hindered progress towards peace and stability are considered. While the paramilitary ceasefires have remained intact and certain aspects of life in Northern Ireland have been transformed, the road to peace has been hindered by both political and psychological intransigence. This paper offers an opportunity to reevaluate conceptualisations of conflict and its management in chronic situations, where divisions are deeply embedded within societal structures and relationships, and consider factors that may act as barriers to the development of a lasting peace.     

Effects of bilateral eye movements on gist based false recognition in the DRM paradigm

The effects of saccadic bilateral (horizontal) eye movements on gist based false recognition was investigated. Following exposure to lists of words related to a critical but non-studied word participants were asked to engage in 30s of bilateral vs. vertical vs. no eye movements. Subsequent testing of recognition memory revealed that those who undertook bilateral eye movement were more likely to correctly recognise previously presented words and less likely to falsely recognise critical non-studied associates. This result joins other research in demonstrating the conditions in which false memory effects can be attenuated.     

Dissimilarity is used as evidence of category membership in multidimensional perceptual categorization: a test of the similarity-dissimilarity generalized context model

In exemplar models of categorization, the similarity between an exemplar and category members constitutes evidence that the exemplar belongs to the category. We test the possibility that the dissimilarity to members of competing categories also contributes to this evidence. Data were collected from two 2-dimensional perceptual categorization experiments, one with lines varying in orientation and length and the other with coloured patches varying in saturation and brightness. Model fits of the similarity-dissimilarity generalized context model were used to compare a model where only similarity was used with a model where both similarity and dissimilarity were used. For the majority of participants the similarity-dissimilarity model provided both a significantly better fit and better generalization, suggesting that people do also use dissimilarity as evidence.     

Order information and free recall: evaluating the item-order hypothesis

The item-order hypothesis proposes that order information plays an important role in recall from long-term memory, and it is commonly used to account for the moderating effects of experimental design in memory research. Recent research (Engelkamp, Jahn, & Seiler, 2003; McDaniel, DeLosh, & Merritt, 2000) raises questions about the assumptions underlying the item-order hypothesis. Four experiments tested these assumptions by examining the relationship between free recall and order memory for lists of varying length (8, 16, or 24 unrelated words or pictures). Some groups were given standard free-recall instructions, other groups were explicitly instructed to use order information in free recall, and other groups were given free-recall tests intermixed with tests of order memory (order reconstruction). The results for short lists were consistent with the assumptions of the item-order account. For intermediate-length lists, explicit order instructions and intermixed order tests made recall more reliant on order information, but under standard conditions, order information played little role in recall. For long lists, there was little evidence that order information contributed to recall. In sum, the assumptions of the item-order account held for short lists, received mixed support with intermediate lists, and received no support for longer lists.