Why People Waive Their Miranda Rights: The Power of Innocence

In a laboratory experiment, 72 participants who were guilty or innocent of a mock theft were apprehended for investigation. Motivated to avoid prosecution and trial, they were confronted by a neutral, sympathetic, or hostile male "detective" who sought a waiver of their Miranda rights. Later, 72 other participants watched videotapes of these sessions and answered questions about the detective and suspect. Strikingly, results showed that although the detective's demeanor had no effect, participants who were truly innocent were significantly more likely to sign a waiver than those who were guilty. Naively believing in the power of their innocence to set them free, most waived their rights even in the hostile detective condition, where the risk of interrogation was apparent. The conceptual and policy implications of these results are discussed.     

Contextualizing depression and physical functioning in battered women: adding vulnerability and resources to the analysis

This investigation examined the relationships between physical, psychological, and sexual abuse along with vulnerability appraisals, positive and negative social relations, and socioeconomic resources on battered women's depression symptomatology and physical functioning. Women were recruited following an incident of partner violence that resulted in a police-report or the filing of a protection order. Participants were surveyed using a standardized questionnaire. Bivariate correlations and multiple regressions were used to examine the relationships between predictors as well as the cumulative and unique contributions of each variable set in explaining depression and physical functioning. Findings indicate that vulnerability appraisals, social relations, and socioeconomic resources significantly explain women's depression and physical functioning over and above the unique effect of specific types of partner violence. Given that women's physical and mental health are important aspects of assisting women with safety planning and violence cessation strategies, implications for assessment and interventions for battered women are discussed.     

The assessment of continued threat to the community in a mentally ill offender program

Community based outpatient treatment for Mentally Disordered Sex Offenders and those found not guility by reason of insanity are based on controversial empirical grounds. The present research examines how mental health evaluators determine when an offender is or is not a threat to the community for purposes of program continuance. Of 13 variables identified by the staff of the offenders' program or from the literature as important in making this prediction, three were found to be related to the evaluation decision: initial psychiatric diagnosis, the presence of supportive relationships in the community, and improvement in therapy. These findings are discussed in terms of the empirical and philosophical literature on psychiatric detention and treatment.