Encouraging eyewitnesses to falsely corroborate allegations: effects of rapport-building and incriminating evidence

Building rapport involves developing a harmonious relationship with another person and conveying understanding and acceptance towards that person. Law enforcement officers use rapport-building to help gather information from witnesses. But could rapport-building, in some situations, work to contaminate eyewitness testimony? Research shows that compelling incriminating evidence can lead people to corroborate false accusations made against another person. We investigated whether rapport-building – when combined with either Verbal or Verbal+Visual false evidence – might boost these corroboration rates. Subjects took part in a pseudo-gambling task, in which their counterpart was falsely accused of cheating. Using a 2 (Rapport: Rapport vs. No-rapport) × 2 (Incriminating Evidence: Verbal vs. Verbal+Visual) between-subjects design, we persuaded subjects to corroborate the accusation. We found that both rapport and verbal+visual incriminating evidence increased the compliance rate. Even when the incriminating evidence was only presented verbally, rapport-building subjects were almost three times as likely to corroborate a false accusation compared to subjects who did not undergo rapport-building. Our results suggest that although there is widespread and strong support for using rapport-building in interviews, doing so also has the potential to aggravate the contaminating power of suggestive interview techniques.     

Organizational Learning and the Development of a Networked Company

Through use of an exploratory case study, this research examines the concepts that distinguish a networked company from other organization models. These concepts are then applied in a field case study to a networked company called the Port Arthur Remediation Team (PART). PART was formed in 1996 by an integrated petroleum company, an environmental engineering concern, and a heavy construction firm to manage the remediation of an oil refining facility. How this networked firm learned to organize, coordinate activities, attain goals, and link its operational components in a useful way are described.     

Finding the Way Forward for the International Arrangement on Forests: UNFF-5, -6 and -7

International forest policy negotiations have often been characterized by political entrenchment: as early as at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro there was a failure to develop a legally binding forest convention, and subsequent policy fora have often struggled to reach consensus. During its fifth annual session in 2005, the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) began to show signs of a process in deep trouble, failing to achieve agreement on even the most innocuous voluntary commitments. At its sixth session in 2006, the Forum was successful in that members were able to agree on four 'global objectives on forests' and initiated the negotiation of a non-legally binding instrument. While this is a cause for optimism, it remains unclear whether the process is completely out of the woods yet or where it is likely to go from here. This article will identify the obstacles to consensus that the UNFF has encountered and discuss whether the most recent session has managed to surmount these. Finally, options to increase future political support and member accountability are presented, including increasing participation in national reporting and reinvigorating the Forum's programme of work.     

Observed Initiation and Reciprocity of Physical Aggression in Young,At-Risk Couples

The present study examined sex differences in initiation of physical aggression as observed during discussion tasks and in the likelihood of a similar response from the partner. In addition, patterns for men and women in the prevalence of aggression initiation and partner reciprocation across 4 time points spanning approximately 9 years from late adolescence through the mid-20s are examined, as well as overall associations with reported aggression and injuries. Findings indicated that the young women were more likely than the men to initiate physical aggression at late adolescence. However, by the mid-20s in early adulthood there were no significant sex differences in initiation rates. The average rates of reciprocation across the 4 time points appeared to be similar for men and women. Women and men appeared more likely to report injuries if the couples observed involved mutual physical aggression in their interactions.