Behavioral Cues to Deception vs. Topic Incriminating Potential in Criminal Confessions

Coding statements of criminal suspects facilitated tests of four hypotheses about differences between behavioral cues to deception and the incriminating potential (IP) of the topic. Information from criminal investigations corroborated the veracity of 337 brief utterances from 28 videotaped confessions. A four-point rating of topic IP measured the degree of potential threat per utterance. Cues discriminating true vs. false comprised word/phrase repeats, speech disfluency spikes, nonverbal overdone, and protracted headshaking. Non-lexical sounds discriminated true vs. false inthe reverse direction. Cues that distinguished IP only comprised speech speed, gesticulation amount, nonverbal animation level, soft weak vocal and “I (or we) just” qualifier. Adding “I don't know” to an answer discriminated both IP and true vs. false. The results supported hypothesis about differentiating deception cues from incriminating potential cues in high-stakes interviews, and suggested that extensive research on distinctions between stress-related cues and cues to deception would improve deception detection.     

The political consequences of alienation-based and indifference-based voter abstention: Applications to Presidential Elections

We present a unified model of turnout and vote choice that incorporates two distinct motivations for citizens to abstain from voting: alienation from the candidates, and indifference between the candidates. Empirically, we find that alienation and indifference each motivated significant amounts of voter abstention in the 1980–1988 U.S. presidential elections. Using model-based computer simulations—which permit us to manipulate factors affecting turnout—we show that distinguishing between alienation and indifference illuminates three controversies in elections research. First, we find that abstention because of either alienation or indifference benefited Republican candidates, but only very modestly. Second, presidential elections involving attractive candidates motivate higher turnout, but only to the extent that abstention stems from alienation rather than from indifference. Third, paradoxically, citizens’ individual-level tendencies to abstain because of alienation are strongly affected by their evaluations of the candidates’ policies, whereas aggregate turnout rates do not depend significantly on the candidates’ policy platforms.     

Which Bets Paid Off? Early Findings on the Impact of Private Management and K‐8 Conversion Reforms on the Achievement of Philadelphia Students

This article reports initial findings from a study of middle grades educational reforms in Philadelphia. We use multilevel change models to analyze the impact on student mathematics achievement of privatization through the use of educational management organizations (EMOs), taking account of the structural reforms (creation of new K‐8 schools to replace selected middle schools) occurring simultaneously within the district. Overall, the longitudinal mathematics achievement gains for students in EMO‐managed schools were not larger than those for students in schools managed by the district. Non‐Edison EMO schools actually performed worse than district‐managed schools. With the exception of one older K‐8 school in one cohort, Edison schools did not significantly outperform district‐managed counterparts. Students in long‐established K‐8 schools generally outgained students in middle schools, but gains were not as large in newly‐established K‐8 schools. Across all types of schools, the second cohort of students obtained greater gains than did the first.     

Composition of bacillus species in aerosols from 11 U.S. cities

A PCR-based heteroduplex assay was used to determine the presence and composition of Bacillus species in 11,059 Environmental Protection Agency PM2.5 aerosol samples from 11 U.S. cities. The assay differentiated three groups: Type A containing Bacillus anthracis and very closely related, often pathogenic, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis strains; Type B containing other B. cereus and B. thuringiensis strains; and a third group of more-distantly related Bacillus species. Eight of the 11 cities were positive for Bacillus species in 50% or more of the samples, and the percent of aerosol samples that contained the HD Type A group ranged from 3% to 32%. Cities from the eastern half of the United States generally contained a higher frequency and broader diversity of Bacillus species than the western half of the United States. Positive samples were detected throughout the year. These results have implications for pathogen detection in environmental samples, understanding the natural evolution of new pathogenic strains, and incidence of infection caused by strains of the B. cereus subgroup.     

Structured Assessment of Correctional Adaptation (SACA): a measure of the impact of incarceration on the mentally ill in a therapeutic setting

Clinicians have observed that psychiatric patients with correctional histories evidence attitudes and behaviors that seem adaptive in penal environments but are maladaptive in mental health settings. This study sought to assess the reliability and concurrent validity of a rating scale designed to measure correctional adaptation using a sample of 64 patients from a state psychiatric hospital. Scale ratings were obtained through structured interviews, whereas predictor variables were gleaned from chart review and self-report. The scale demonstrated good interrater reliability (ICC = .83) and acceptable internal consistency (alpha= .67). Of the variables evaluated, two were significantly correlated with Structured Assessment of Correctional Adaptation (SACA) total scores, total months sentenced to prison or jail (r = .26), and frequency of disciplinary tickets while in prison or jail (r = .31). Stepwise regression analyses revealed only the latter variable significantly predicted SACA score (R = .31), F(1, 58) = 6.27, p < .05. Clinical implications of these findings, the scale, and the construct of correctional adaptation are discussed.     

Jocks, gender, binge drinking, and adolescent violence

Previous research has suggested a link between athletic involvement and elevated levels of adolescent violence outside the sport context. The present study expanded on this literature by positing differences in the sport-violence relationship across dimensions of athletic involvement (athletic participation vs. jock identity), type of violence (family vs. nonfamily), and gender as well as by examining the impact of binge drinking on the sport-violence relationship. Regression analyses using a sample of 608 Western New York adolescents indicated that (a) jock identity (but not athletic participation) was associated with more frequent violence, (b) jock identity predicted nonfamily violence (but not family violence), and (c) the link between jock identity and nonfamily violence was stronger for boys than for girls. Binge drinking predicted family violence among nonjocks only.