Are accurate witnesses more likely to make absolute judgments?

The present study tested the Two-Judgment Theory of Eyewitness Identification Accuracy. Specifically, the extent to which participants were able to engage in an absolute judgment strategy was manipulated by varying the time available to view a lineup. Providing a limited exposure to a lineup should “interrupt” decision making, whereby witnesses can only engage a relative strategy, thus leading to higher false positive responding given a target-absent lineup. Seventy-four adults viewed a 1-minute video that exposed them to an unknown target and subsequently viewed the lineup for a limited (2 s) or an unlimited amount of time. Although false positive rates were similar across conditions, accurate witnesses were more confident than inaccurate witnesses. Confidence was negatively correlated with response latency such that witnesses who took more time to make a decision were less confident in their decisions compared to witnesses who made more rapid decisions. Response latency did not differ for accurate and inaccurate witnesses. Limitations and suggestions for future research on the Two-Judgment Theory are discussed.     

Equipping witnesses with transferable skills: the Self-Administered Interview©

The Self-Administered Interview^© (SAI) is a novel investigative interview tool with potential practical benefits. Research revealed that the SAI increases the recall of correct information without a decrease in accuracy. In addition, it seems to prevent forgetting. Participants who had completed the SAI after viewing an event remembered more correct details following a delay than participants who did not have this early recall opportunity. The current study examined whether the beneficial effects of the SAI go beyond the well-established testing effect. Does the SAI make a good witness for one event or for a better witness in general? If the SAI provides general skills, its effects may transfer at least partially to a new event. Two groups of participants watched an event followed by SAI or free recall (FR) instructions. After a one-week delay participants were presented with a second event and received FR instructions. In addition to replicating the SAI effect, experienced SAI participants recalled more correct details for the second event than inexperienced individuals. The findings suggest that the SAI equips witnesses with transferable skills they can use during future retrieval of new events.     

Non-biased lineup instructions do matter – a problem for older witnesses

Abstract

From the limited literature on older witnesses’ identification performance it is known that they are less accurate on lineups compared to younger witnesses. What is less certain is why they show this age deficit and what can be done to aid their performance. Witnesses forgot being given non-biased lineup instructions informing witnesses that the perpetrator may or may not be present. More older witnesses than younger witnesses forgot and witnesses who failed to report remembering these instructions were significantly less accurate on the lineups. In addition, the current study investigated the use of sequential lineup presentation and stringent decision criteria to aid the performance of older witnesses. Sequential presentation was beneficial to both younger and older adults when the lineup was target absent (TA) but was detrimental when the lineup was target present (TP). Stringent decision criteria had no significant beneficial effect. Future directions for aiding older witnesses’ performance are discussed.     

Cementing alliances? witnesses to marriage and baptism in early nineteenth-century iceland

The aim of this study is to throw light on the importance of social networks by examining the choice of godparents and witnesses to marriage in early nineteenth-century Iceland. The article analyzes parish records concerning two communities representative of different socio-economic environments in southwestern Iceland. The results show that godparents were chosen predominantly among people of standing in the neighborhood, such as communal directors, church wardens, merchants, and midwives. Grandparents figured only rarely as godparents. In the case of marriage, however, close kin played a markedly more important role as witnesses, particularly in the upland community that had a more stable population than the coastal one. Observed local variations in this respect can be explained in light of different socio-economic settings.     

What do expert witnesses in child sexual abuse think they are doing? — ‘Diagnosis’, and the sexually accurate doll ‘test’ as professional myths

Conclusions From the above considerations it can be seen that the ways in which clinicians and lawyers typically think about expert opinion on cases of suspected sexual abuse may be seriously misleading. Neither the rhetoric of diagnosis or of testing is appropriate when considering the presence or absence of child sexual abuse, particularly when this leads to an expert opinion in the forensic context. It is crucial that experts and courts clearly discriminate and use appropriately the skills of psychologists to bring evidence into being, as well as their ability to give an opinion based on evidence. In bringing about this evidence, the psychologist might approach the task in the spirit of an investigator carrying out a single case experiment. This should allow courts to form their own opinion on parts or all of the evidence so that the unnecessary reliance on expert opinion is avoided.     

Mental reinstatement of context with child witnesses: does it matter whether context is reinstated ‘out loud’?

Abstract

In this study we examined the impact of two types of mental reinstatement of context instructions in facilitating children's recall of a staged event across two stages of development. Specifically, a 2 × 3 factorial design was utilised incorporating two age groups (6- and 12-year-olds) and three interview conditions (standard recall, mental reinstatement where the child was instructed to reinstate the context ‘out loud’, and mental reinstatement without the explicit ‘out loud’ instruction). Overall, mental reinstatement instruction led to more correct and fewer incorrect responses than the standard recall instruction. The effect of mental reinstatement was similar across the age groups and irrespective of whether the child was asked to reinstate ‘out loud’. Beneficial effects of the technique, however, were only evident for cued-recall questions as opposed to free-narrative responses. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

面对,接受,处理,放下

"面对,接受,处理,放下。这是任何人面对一起不幸事件时都应有的态度。"李双江之子李天一涉嫌强奸案被炒作得沸沸扬扬。这起事件引发"网民的狂欢",除了对被害人的怜悯与同情外,更多的是对李天一的痛责,恨不得要司法机关立即从肉体上消灭之,还有就是对李双江夫妇教子无方的嘲讽与抨击,等等。面对这种巨大的喧嚣,我援引一个故事来谈"接纳"的观点:国际著名教育专家麦道卫博士的女儿上中学时有一天问他:"爸爸,要是我这会儿怀孕了,你怎么处理?"他回答说:"我是一名布道家,教了一辈子的亲子教育,要是你     

雪莲,地瓜,爆米花

大家都说《泰囧》好看,很搞笑的喜剧片,要我去看。抱着用一部喜剧来给我的生日当天划一个圆满句号的想法去看的电影,看完才知道,你把它当一部单纯的喜剧来看,未免太肤浅;你把它当一部人生励志片来看,未免太凝重。徐朗和王宝,是我们这个世界上两类人的写照。一类,不在乎吃饭,顾不上挑水,更忙不到砍柴,他们的心中只有一个老周。若为老周故,吃饭挑水皆可抛。一类,吃饭即吃饭,挑水即挑水,随遇而安,砍柴时若是能见到一抹晚霞简直此生不     

朝审,秋审,热审

《明史·刑法志》:“天顺三年令每岁霜降后,三法司同公、侯、伯会审重囚,谓之朝审.”明朝每年在规定时间内将法司在押的重囚,引到承天门外,三法司会同稿·刑法志》:“秋审亦原于明之奏决单,冬至前会审之.”按清律规定,凡严重危害“社稷”的犯罪,应立即处决的,称“斩立决”.如危害性较小或有可疑者,暂判“斩监候”或“绞监候”,缓期处决,延至秋天由九卿重审.秋     

王凤启盗伐林木,为窝藏赃物,当场使用暴力,致人死亡,被判处死刑

一九八二年十月,吉林省吉林市中级人民法院公开审理了王凤启等四人因运输盗伐的林木,为窝藏赃物,抗拒民兵检查,当场使用暴力致人死亡一案。 被告人王凤启、韩喜生、王凤明、韩景阳于一九八二年六月十八日二十三时许,赶两辆车运盗伐的木材。当行至镇郊公社春田六队时,被民兵翟凤双等人发现截住,令其将木材送到生产队。被告人王凤启用木棒猛打翟凤双头部,     

20年,奋斗不息,奔跑不止

2021年是具有特殊重要性的一年。这一年是中国共产党成立100周年,也是"十四五"规划开局之年。这一年,《江淮法治》已经走过20年的征程。20年来,《江淮法治》从月刊到半月刊,从双色到全彩,从开始的含苞待放到如今的绽放枝头,内容越来越丰富,形式越来越多样,服务读者的功能越来越强大。     

加强法制,发扬民主,促进四化

第五届全国人民代表大会第二次会议通过的《中华人民共和国人民法院组织法》公布了。这标志着我国社会主义法制建设的新发展。认真学习、贯彻执行人民法院组织法,必将对发展安定团结的政治局面,加速社会主义现代化建设的步伐,起着重大作用。     

面向基层,加强指导,提高办案质量

为了摸清冤错案件的底数,调查研究审判工作中存在的问题,加强对基层法院业务领导,进一步提高办案质量,由省法院和巢湖地区中级法院主要领导同志带队,组织巢湖地区各县法院院长、刑、民庭庭长