The View from Inside the System: How Police Explain Their Response to Sexual Assault

Prior research has documented the problematic community response to sexual assault: the majority of sexual assaults reported to police are never prosecuted. Social dominance theory suggests that this response is a form of institutional discrimination, intended to maintain existing social structures, and that police personnel likely draw upon shared ideologies to justify their decision‐making in sexual assault case investigations. This study drew upon social dominance theory to examine how police justified their investigatory decisions to identify potential leverage points for change. The study revealed that the likelihood of a case referral to the prosecutor increased with each additional investigative step completed; of the different types of justifications provided by police for a less‐than‐thorough investigative response and stalled case, blaming the victim for the poor police investigation proved to be the most damaging to case progression; and the type of explanation provided by police was impacted by specific case variables. As suggested by social dominance theory, the study demonstrates that police rely on several different mechanisms to justify their response to sexual assault; implementing criminal justice system policies that target and interrupt these mechanisms has the potential to improve this response, regardless of specific case factors.     

The effect of stopping before turning on the direct observational measure of whole body turning bias

Turning bias, the preferential tendency to turn toward a given direction has been reported in both rodents and human participants. The observational gait method of determining turning bias in humans requires a stop prior to turning. This study removed the stop and hypothesised that turning bias would remain the same between stop and non-stop conditions if bias was solely under the control of neurochemical asymmetries. The results showed that statistically turning bias remained the same (to the left) regardless of method used but there was no agreement between the methods thus rejecting the hypothesis. It is likely that when not stopping biomechanical factors related to gait when turning influence the direction of turn rather than solely neurochemical asymmetries.     

Individual differences in risk perception versus risk taking: handedness and interhemispheric interaction

Research indicates that right-hemisphere mechanisms are specifically sensitive to and averse to risk. Research also indicates that mixed degree of handedness is associated with increased access to right hemisphere processing. Accordingly, it was predicted that mixed-handers would exhibit greater risk aversion. Participants were presented with various risky activities and were asked to rate (i) the perceived risk, (ii) the perceived benefit, and (iii) their likelihood to engage in each activity. No handedness differences were found for any of these ratings. Regression analyses, however, indicated that the likelihood to engage in risky activities was predicted primarily by the perceived risks in mixed-handers and by the perceived benefits in strong-handers.     

Preschoolers' aggression, affiliation, and social dominance relationships: An observational, longitudinal study

This study of 61 preschool children used an observational, longitudinal design to examine the degree to which social dominance relationships account for time-related change in rates of aggression and affiliation across a school year. Specific hypotheses reflected the view that, over time, behavioral function should change in accord with the stability of social dominance relationships, social norms, and on-going developmental processes. Results showed that change in rates of aggression was non-linear (i.e., increasing then decreasing over the year), that physical and verbal forms of aggression were associated with distinct longitudinal trajectories, and that these trajectories were related to rates of affiliation and visual regard. As predicted, social dominance accounted for significant variation in these patterns. Implications for theory, future research, and school practitioners are discussed.     

Empirical test of bullies' status goals: assessing direct goals, aggression, and prestige

The literature suggests that status goals are one of the driving motivations behind bullying behavior, yet this conjecture has rarely if ever been examined empirically. This study assessed status goals in three ways, using dyadic network analysis to analyze the relations and goals among 10-11 and 14-15 year olds in 22 school classes (N boys=225; N girls=277). As a validation bullies were contrasted with victims. Bullies had direct status goals (measured with the Interpersonal Goal Inventory for Children) and showed dominance as measured with proactive aggression. Moreover, as predicted from a goal perspective, bullying behavior was related to prestige in terms of perceived popularity. In contrast, victims lacked status goals, were only reactively aggressive, and low on prestige. That being popular is not the same as being liked could be shown by the fact that bullies were just as rejected as victims by their classmates. Eighth-grade bullies had more direct status goals than fourth-grade bullies, possibly indicating that striving for the popularity component of status increases in early adolescence.     

Force Control of Ankle Dorsiflexors in Young Adults: Effects of Bilateral Control and Leg Dominance

Abstract

We investigated whether bilateral lower-limb control and leg dominance affect force control ability in 15 healthy young adults (9 males and 6 females, age =26.8?±?4.1 years). Participants performed isometric ankle dorsiflexion force control tasks, matching a visual target (10% of maximal effort) as quickly and precisely as possible in ballistic and tonic tasks. Performance was evaluated using force error, force steadiness, amount of muscle activity of the tibialis anterior, and response time characteristics. Results showed no significant effects of leg dominance during both ballistic and tonic tasks, while bilateral condition resulted in significantly larger error, less force steadiness, compared to unilateral condition, and only during the tonic task. Consequently, bilateral control, specifically in tasks utilizing feedback control (i.e., tonic task) might affect force control ability, possibly because of the interhemispheric inhibition to meet bilateral task complexity and integrate afferent bilateral sensory information from both right and left legs.     

Compensating for Innovation: Extreme Product Incongruity Encourages Consumers to Affirm Unrelated Consumption Schemas

New products are often extremely incongruent with expectations. The inability to make sense of these products elevates anxiety and leads to negative evaluations. Although scholars have predominantly focused on combating the negative response to extreme incongruity, we propose that extreme incongruity may have implications that extend beyond the category. We base our predictions on the concept of fluid compensation, which suggests that when people struggle to make sense of something, they will nonconsciously reinforce highly accessible schemas in unrelated domains. Four studies confirm that extreme incongruity encourages fluid compensation, such that it elevates preference for dominant brands (study 1), green consumption (studies 2 and 4), and ethnocentric products (study 3). We isolate the causal role of anxiety using moderation tasks and biometric feedback. Furthermore, we demonstrate that compensation has an immediate dampening effect on arousal intensity. Thus, if consumers can compensate before explicitly evaluating an extremely incongruent product, their evaluations tend not to be negative. Taken together, we document that extreme innovations encourage compensation, and in compensating, consumers can become more receptive to extreme innovations.     

The inheritance of social dominance rank in red grouse (Lagopus Lagopus scoticus)

Social dominance rank in red grouse has a large inherited component. The relative contributions of mothers and fathers to the dominance ranks of their sons and daughters were studied by breeding a dominant and a subordinate strain and crossing them. Both parents contributed equally to the dominance ranks of both sons and daughters. Cocks from the dominant strain were more aggressive and had bigger combs than cocks from the subordinate strain. Dominant cocks and hens, however, did not weigh more than subordinates.     

A multivariate analysis of social dominance in children

The social dominance behavior of dyads of unacquainted, same-sex 31/2 year-olds was observed in a familiar laboratory playroom under two conditions: A free play situation and a situation where candy was introduced. In each of the two conditions, a principal components analysis was used to explore two issues: the usefulness of the multivariate approach in devising a definition of dominance, and the cross-situational stability of the construct. In the free play session, the first principal component that emerged was consistent with a theoretical definition of dominance. This picture was disrupted by the introduction of candy in the second condition. However, a high correlation was found between the dominance hierarchies established in each situation. It was concluded that the multivariate analysis is a useful method for the study of dominance. The generalizability of social dominance across settings was discussed as a possible explanation for the high cross-situational stability.     

寻找丢失的自我——精神分裂症患者的自我面孔识别

为探索精神分裂症患者自我面孔识别的能力以及在视听整合任务中面孔对声音身份识别(同性和异性)的影响,选取34名住院精神分裂症患者和26名健康被试,分别进行单通道动态自我面孔识别任务、单通道自我声音识别任务和视听整合任务的3个实验。结果发现:精神分裂症患者的单通道自我面孔识别能力和自我声音识别能力与健康组无区别,但在视听整合任务中,精神分裂症患者的声音身份识别受到视觉通道面孔识别的影响。结果表明,精神分裂症患者有自我面孔识别的能力,自我面孔会促进自我声音的识别,并抑制对同性他人声音和异性他人声音的识别。