On the psychology of confessions: does innocence put innocents at risk?

The Central Park jogger case and other recent exonerations highlight the problem of wrongful convictions, 15% to 25% of which have contained confessions in evidence. Recent research suggests that actual innocence does not protect people across a sequence of pivotal decisions: (a) In preinterrogation interviews, investigators commit false-positive errors, presuming innocent suspects guilty; (b) naively believing in the transparency of their innocence, innocent suspects waive their rights; (c) despite or because of their denials, innocent suspects elicit highly confrontational interrogations; (d) certain commonly used techniques lead suspects to confess to crimes they did not commit; and (e) police and others cannot distinguish between uncorroborated true and false confessions. It appears that innocence puts innocents at risk, that consideration should be given to reforming current practices, and that a policy of videotaping interrogations is a necessary means of protection.     

Dynamic self-efficacy and outcome expectancies: prediction of smoking lapse and relapse

According to social learning models of drug relapse, decreases in abstinence self-efficacy (ASE) and increases in positive smoking outcome expectancies (POEs) should foreshadow lapses and relapse. In this study, the authors examined this hypothesis by using ecological momentary assessment data from 305 smokers who achieved initial abstinence from smoking and monitored their smoking and their ASE and POEs by using palmtop computers. Daily ASE and POEs predicted the occurrence of a 1st lapse on the following day. Following a lapse, variations in daily ASE predicted the onset of relapse, even after controlling for concurrent smoking. ASE and POEs generally neither mediated nor moderated each other's effects. These data emphasize the role of dynamic factors in the relapse process.     

Pre-employment integrity testing across multiple industries

Despite the robust meta-analytic data available, very little comparative research exists on validities of integrity measures within specific industries. Among a sample of 2456 Israeli job applicants, integrity scores were found to be significantly correlated with self-reported counterproductive work behaviors across eight different industries, with no evidence of adverse impact by gender, age, or national origin. These results are believed to be of practical importance to the diverse organizations administering integrity tests.     

A test of the micro‐expressions training tool: Does it improve lie detection?

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the micro‐expressions training tool (METT) in identifying and using micro‐expressions to improve lie detection. Participants (n = 90) were randomly assigned to receive training in micro‐expressions recognition, a bogus control training, or no training. All participants made veracity judgements of five randomly selected videos of targets providing deceptive or truthful statements. With the use of the Bayesian analyses, we found that the METT group did not outperform those in the bogus training and no training groups. Further, overall accuracy was slightly below chance. Implications of these results are discussed.     

The group psychotherapy movement at the millennium: some historical perspectives

Although almost a century old, group psychotherapy has experienced an unprecedented expansion over the last 50 years. By the 1970s, human helping groups had found application in virtually all the human services, including the media. The growth of professional organizations for group work specialists was accompanied by a burgeoning literature and by accelerated research endeavors. The recent advent of the managed health care "revolution" has shaken the very foundations of this prospering group psychotherapy movement. Undue pressure from third-party payers for greater accountability and for cost-containment has come to threaten the traditional autonomy and dedication to quality of care by group therapy practitioners. Professional organizations have begun to meet these challenges by educational endeavors addressed at insurers, legislators, and the public. Current training programs and literature for clinicians have focused on the need for a new "business orientation" and on less costly group treatment measures (i.e., short-term and combined). Given group therapy's proven effectiveness, coupled with its practitioners' flexibility, the movement is bound to regain its secure footing at the dawn of the new millennium.     

Perceived Parental Protectiveness Promotes Positive Friend Influence

Friend influence over prosocial behaviour and delinquent behaviour was examined as a function of relative parental protectiveness in a community sample of Lithuanian high school students (M = 16.5 years old). Participants completed self‐reports describing commitment to personal values, delinquent behaviours, prosocial behaviours, and perceived parental protectiveness. Mutual friends (158 male dyads, 241 female dyads) were identified from peer nominations. Distinguishable dyad Actor–Partner Interdependence Model analyses illustrate how parenting promotes positive peer influence. The results indicate that friend influence is greatest in the context of protective parenting: Adolescents who perceived more parental protectiveness were positively influenced by the strength of their friend's personal values, whereas adolescents who perceived less parental protectiveness were not. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Building Resilience in Families,Communities, and Organizations: A Training Program in Global Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

This article describes the Summer Institute in Global Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, a brief immersion training program for mental health, health, and allied professionals who work with populations that have endured severe adversities and trauma, such as domestic and political violence, extreme poverty, armed conflict, epidemics, and natural disasters. The course taught participants to apply collaborative and contextually sensitive approaches to enhance social connectedness and resilience in families, communities, and organizations. This article presents core training principles and vignettes which illustrate how those engaging in such interventions must: (1) work in the context of a strong and supportive organization; (2) appreciate the complexity of the systems with which they are engaging; and (3) be open to the possibilities for healing and transformation. The program utilized a combination of didactic presentations, hands‐on interactive exercises, case studies, and experiential approaches to organizational team building and staff stress management.