The Discrediting Effect in Eyewitness Testimony1

Loftus (1974) had subjects read summaries of criminal trials that contained the testimony of either credible or discredited prosecution eyewitnesses, and found no effect of discrediting an eyewitness. Instead, almost as many subjects voted guilty with a discredited eyewitness as with a credible eyewitness; this led Loftus to the conclusion that jurors tend to overbelieve eyewitness testimony. Loftus's conclusion was subsequently challenged by others who reported a strong discrediting effect. A series of three experiments using college students was conducted to explore the characteristics of trial summaries that might account for the discrepancy in results, such as inclusion of judicial instructions concerning proof beyond a reasonable doubt, or an eyewitness's reaffirmation of his testimony following discrediting. In all cases, a strong discrediting effect was found. Apparently the discrediting effect appears regardless of wide variation in content of trial summaries. The present data do not support the overbelief claim.     

Hillel's maxim: Framework for psychological health

Mental health practitioners continually struggle to find a simple framework for describing the characteristics of the psychologically healthy individual. Hillel's often quoted saying provides relevant insight into the healthy personality and a convenient framework against which to examine psychological health.     

The Effects of Decision Outcome Dispersion Upon Organizational Decision Making

The effects of varying decision outcome dispersion on organizational decision making were investigated under individual and group decision making conditions. Thirty-six female and pg]36 male subjects made decisions for organizational decision scenarios in which outcomes affected primarily the decision maker, people other than the decision maker, or a group of which the decision maker was a member. Subjects rated their levels of perceived risk and confidence in their decisions and made decisions within a simulated context of either a small or a large organization. Results indicated that subjects perceived significantly less risk and more confidence in their decisions when outcomes affected primarily themselves rather than others regardless of whether the decisions were made individually or by a group. Males perceived their decisions as significantly more risky than females. Induced organizational size did not significantly influence decision making.

     

SPELLING AND EMERGENT PICTURE-PRINTED WORD RELATIONS ESTABLISHED WITH DELAYED IDENTITY MATCHING TO COMPLEX SAMPLES

Students with academic deficits learned delayed matching-to-sample tasks that used complex sample stimuli, each consisting of a picture and a printed word. A touch to the sample complex removed it from the computer display and produced either picture comparisons or a choice pool of letters. If the comparisons were pictures, selecting the picture identical to the preceding sample was reinforced. If the letters appeared, letter-by-letter construction of the preceding printed word sample was reinforced. The procedure engendered new constructed-response spelling performances and arbitrary relations among pictures and printed words in matching to sample. The emergence of relations among different sets of printed words (paired with the same pictures) suggested classes of equivalent stimuli. Outcome tests involving spoken words as sample stimuli suggested expansion of subjects' spelling repertoires and stimulus classes.     

EFFECTS OF VIDEO-ASSISTED TRAINING ON EMPLOYMENT-RELATED SOCIAL SKILLS OF ADULTS WITH SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATION

Two studies investigated effects of video-assisted training on employment-related social skills of adults with severe mental retardation. In video-assisted training, participants discriminated a model's behavior on videotape and received feedback from the trainer for responses to questions about video scenes. In the first study, 3 adults in an employment program participated in video-assisted training to request their supervisor's assistance when encountering work problems. Results indicated that participants discriminated the target behavior on video but effects did not generalize to the work setting for 2 participants until they rehearsed the behavior. In the second study, 2 participants were taught to fix and report four work problems using video-assisted procedures. Results indicated that after participants rehearsed how to fix and report one or two work problems, they began to fix and report the remaining problems with video-assisted training alone.     

COVARIATION WITHIN FUNCTIONAL RESPONSE CLASSES: IMPLICATIONS FOR TREATMENT OF SEVERE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

Two studies examined the effects of a reductive treatment versus instruction-based treatments on the generalized reduction of problem behaviors. Each study involved a detailed analysis of multiple problem behaviors performed by school-aged youth with severe intellectual disabilities. The analysis examined the contrasting effects of one of two different positive intervention procedures (teaching a positive alternative behavior or providing additional teacher assistance during instruction) versus blocking and/or verbally reprimanding a problem behavior. The focus of each analysis was on the covariation of multiple problem behaviors within functional response classes. Results of the investigation indicated that when only one member of the response class was blocked, a collateral increase was observed in one or more different problem behaviors from the same response class. Alternatively, when 1 participant was taught a functionally equivalent mand response, all problem behaviors in the response class were reduced. Problem behaviors also were reduced for the remaining participant by presenting antecedent teacher assistance. Implications of the research extend to analysis of covariation within response classes and to procedures that result in generalized reduction of problem behaviors within a response class.     

Degree of learning,interpolated tests,and rate of forgetting

The purpose of the two experiments reported here was to observe the effects of degree of learning, interpolated tests, and retention interval, primarily on the rate of forgetting of a list of words, and secondarily on hypermnesia for those words. In the first experiment, all the subjects had one study trial on a list of 20 common words, followed by two tests of recall. Half of the subjects had further study and test trials until they had learned the words to a criterion of three correct consecutive recalls. Two days later, half of the subjects under each learning condition returned for four retention tests, and 16 days later, all the subjects returned for four tests. Experiment 2 was similar, except that all the subjects had at least three study trials followed by four recall tests on Day 1, intermediate tests were given 2 or 7 days later, and they all had final tests 14 days later. The results showed that rate of forgetting was attenuated by an additional intermediate set of tests but not by criterion learning. Hypermnesia was generally found over the tests that were given after a retention interval of 2 or more days. The best predictor of the amount of hypermnesia over a set of tests was the difference between overall cumulative recall and net recall on the first test of the set.     

Representation by counsel: Right or obligation?

Since the Supreme Court's decision in Faretta v. California (1975), courts have generally permitted defendants to represent themselves, as long as they are competent to do so. The problem lies in the definition of competency to waive counsel, which has been vaguely defined by the courts. Little is known about the frequency of, or reasons for, attempts to waive counsel, about the process of forensic evaluation of such competency, and about the success of such attempts. The authors briefly review the case law on competency to waive representation, report on a longitudinal prospective study of these issues in a population of defendants referred to an inpatient forensic facility for evaluation of all types of competency related to their criminal prosecutions, and discuss the significance of the issue for forensic clinicians. A key question for courts, lawyers, and clinicians is whether a competency evaluation can be invoked to overcome a defendant's constitutional rights to self-representation and bail.