Forensic voice discrimination by lay listeners: The effect of speech type and background noise on performance

In forensic settings, lay (nonexpert) listeners may be required to compare voice samples for identity. In two experiments we investigated the effect of background noise and variations in speaking style on performance. In each trial, participants heard two recordings, responded whether the voices belonged to the same person, and provided a confidence rating. In Experiment 1, the first recording featured read speech and the second featured read or spontaneous speech. Both recordings were presented in quiet, or with background noise. Accuracy was highest when recordings featured the same speaking style. In Experiment 2, background noise either occurred in the first or second recording. Accuracy was higher when it occurred in the second. The overall results reveal that both speaking style and background noise can disrupt accuracy. Although there is a relationship between confidence and accuracy in all conditions, it is variable. The forensic implications of these findings are discussed.     

Suicidal behavior in urban American Indian adolescents: a comparison with reservation youth in a southwestern state

The majority of American Indians live off of reservations, yet research on suicidal behavior in this population overwhelmingly focuses on reservation Indians. This exploratory study interviewed a stratified random sample of 144 urban and 170 reservation American Indian adolescents to compare rates and correlates of suicidal behavior. One fifth of urban youth and one third of reservation youth reported lifetime suicidal ideation, although similar numbers (14%-18%) reported an attempt. Urban youth had fewer psychosocial problems, and in separate multivariate analyses, the groups shared no common correlate of attempted suicide. Different approaches to prevention and treatment may be warranted for urban Indian youth.     

Does Writing About Suicidal Thoughts and Feelings Reduce Them?

To assess whether writing with cognitive change or exposure instructions reduces depression or suicidality, 121 undergraduates screened for suicidality wrote for 20 minutes on 4 days over 2 weeks. They were randomly assigned to reinterpret or to write and rewrite traumatic events/emotions, or to write about innocuous topics. The three groups (N = 98) who completed pre-, post-, and 6-week follow-up were not different on suicidality or depression. All subjects reported fewer automatic negative thoughts over the 2 weeks; they also reported higher self-regard but more health center visits at follow-up. Suicidal thoughts may be more resistant than physical health to writing interventions.     

Adolescents' reasoning about exclusion from social groups

Ninth- and 11th-grade students (N = 379) were surveyed regarding their evaluations of excluding someone from a social group solely on the basis of his or her social reference group membership. Individuals evaluated exclusion in ambiguous and nonambiguous situations. Judgments and reasoning about exclusion were compared with judgments and reasoning about a more prototypically moral situation (denial of resources). Overall, participants evaluated exclusion as less wrong than denial of resources and used fewer moral and more conventional reasons to justify their judgments. Participants relied more on their group knowledge or stereotypes in evaluating ambiguous situations and more on their personal knowledge in evaluating nonambiguous situations. Age- and gender-related differences in evaluations, reasoning, and use of stereotypes were also found.     

Immoral,Incompetent, and Lacking Warmth: How Stereotypes of Teenage Fathers Compare to Those of Other Parents

Sex Roles - Constructions of teenage fathers largely portray them as absent, criminal, and violent (Johansson and Hammarén 2014; Kiselica and Kiselica 2014), with their identity tied to the...     

A Novel Approach to the Assessment of Fidelity to a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for PTSD Using Clinical Worksheets: A Proof of Concept With Cognitive Processing Therapy

Fidelity monitoring is a critical indicator of psychotherapy quality and is central to successful implementation. A major barrier to fidelity in routine care is the lack of feasible, scalable, and valid measurement strategies. A reliable, low-burden fidelity assessment would promote sustained implementation of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs). The current study examined fidelity measurement for cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using clinical worksheets. External raters evaluated patient worksheets done as a part of treatment, both guided by the therapist and completed independently as homework. Results demonstrated that fidelity ratings from CPT session worksheets were feasible and efficient. Notably, they were strongly correlated with observer ratings of the fidelity of CPT strategies that were present on the worksheets. Agreement among ratings conducted by individuals with a range of experience with CPT was acceptable to high. There was not a main effect of therapist-guided, in-session worksheet ratings on PTSD symptom change. However, patient competence in completing worksheets independently was associated with greater PTSD symptom decline and in-session, therapist-guided worksheet completion was associated with larger symptom decreases among patients with high levels of competence. With further research and refinement, rating of worksheets may be an efficient way to examine therapist and patient skill in key CPT elements, and their interactions, compared to the gold standard of observer ratings of therapy video-recordings. Additional research is needed to determine if worksheets are an accurate and scalable alternative to gold standard observer ratings in settings in which time and resources are limited.     

Parameters of Aggressive Behavior in a Treatment-Seeking Sample of Military Personnel: A Secondary Analysis of Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Evidence-Based PTSD Treatments

Aggressive behavior is prevalent among veterans of post-9/11 conflicts who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about whether PTSD treatments reduce aggression or the direction of the association between changes in PTSD symptoms and aggression in the context of PTSD treatment. We combined data from three clinical trials of evidence-based PTSD treatment in service members (N = 592) to: (1) examine whether PTSD treatment reduces psychological (e.g., verbal behavior) and physical aggression, and; (2) explore temporal associations between aggressive behavior and PTSD. Both psychological (Estimate = -2.20, SE = 0.07) and physical aggression (Estimate = -0.36, SE = 0.05) were significantly reduced from baseline to posttreatment follow-up. Lagged PTSD symptom reduction was not associated with reduced reports of aggression; however, higher baseline PTSD scores were significantly associated with greater reductions in psychological aggression (exclusively; ß = -0.67, 95% CI = -1.05, -0.30, SE = -3.49). Findings reveal that service members receiving PTSD treatment report substantial collateral changes in psychological aggression over time, particularly for participants with greater PTSD symptom severity. Clinicians should consider cotherapies or alternative ways of targeting physical aggression among service members with PTSD and alternative approaches to reduce psychological aggression among service members with relatively low PTSD symptom severity when considering evidence-based PTSD treatments.     

What Makes It Rape? A Lay Theories Approach to Defining Rape Among College Students

Recent changes in the U.S. Justice Department’s definition of rape have renewed its public attention. The present study applied a lay theories approach to the assessment of what college students currently think about rape. Participants (n?=?272) defined rape in their own words; responses were qualitatively analyzed and prominent themes identified. Major themes included the physicality of rape and the victim’s response; minor themes included the potential for victims to be physically harmed and rape’s gendered nature, among others. These findings provide insight into how this demographic conceptualizes and theorizes rape, which is an important step in reducing its prevalence.     

Two (Weak) Cheers for Markets in Votes

This paper offers the first moral defense of markets in votes in a democratic electoral system based on majority rule where there are no moral restrictions on how votes can be cast. In Part 1 I outline the type of vote buying that I defend in this paper, and defend my methodological assumption. In Part 2 I criticize Freiman’s arguments for legalizing vote buying (arguments that do not address its morality). In Part 3 I outline and reply to some responses that could be made to my criticisms of Freiman’s arguments. In Part 4 I draw from the flaws in Freiman’s arguments to argue that vote buying is morally permissible and defend these arguments against objections.