Measuring interrogative suggestibility in children: Reliability and validity of the bonn test of statement suggestibility

Abstract

The present paper describes three studies that examined false confessions in the laboratory. Studies 1 (N=56) and 2 (N=9) relied on the by now classic computer crash paradigm introduced by Kassin and Kiechel (Psychological Science, 7, 125–128, 1996). Study 3 (N=12) employed a novel paradigm in which undergraduate participants were falsely accused of exam fraud. Our data indicate that false confessions do occur, even when conditions become more ecologically valid. Furthermore, we explored whether individual differences in compliance, suggestibility, fantasy proneness, dissociation, and cognitive failures are related to false confessions. Of these, only fantasy proneness was associated with false confessions.     

An investigation of the relationship between anger and offence-related shame and guilt

Abstract

A number of accounts of shame and guilt emphasise an association between shame and anger difficulties, and it has been suggested that shame and rage may promote one another. The shame–anger relationship may be particularly relevant to the study of forensic populations, as the fact of having committed a criminal offence has the potential to be a highly shame-provoking experience. The current study investigates the prediction that shame and guilt reactions to an offence are differentially related to the propensity to experience and ability to control anger. A measure of offence-related shame and guilt and a measure of anger experience and control was completed by 60 men detained in forensic psychiatric units. The results supported the prediction that offence-related shame is associated with elevated levels of anger difficulties, whilst offence-related guilt is associated with ability to control anger. The findings of the current study are consistent with those of previous investigations of shame, guilt and anger. Specific implications for the understanding and prevention of violent offending are discussed.     

A multidimensional scaling analysis of the Hare PCL-R: Unfolding the structure of psychopathy

Abstract

Recent studies examining the Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R) have argued for a range of factorial solutions to describe and explain the dimensions of psychopathy. This study details an empirical analysis of North American PCL-R data for 4630 male offenders, using multidimensional scaling (MDS) as a non-linear alternative to factor analysis. The emergent structure of Hare's psychopathy psychometric can be interpreted in more than one way and at different levels of specificity. The multidimensional scalograms reveal a set of facets consistent with the two- and four-factor solutions that emerge from the same data. Equally the structure of the PCL-R can be interpreted through personality theory as a set of core traits and behavioural manifestations, consistent with an evolutionary basis for psychopathic tendencies. These analyses provide support for a multidimensional structure within the PCL-R, and suggest that psychopathy can be viewed as an extreme variant of multiple dimensions of personality.     

Information Conduits or Content Developers? Determining Whether News Portals Should Enjoy Blanket Immunity from Defamation Suits

News portals should be held to the same standard of liability for defamation as other news media. Internet service providers (ISPs) enjoy blanket immunity from liability for defamation under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, while information content providers (ICPs) might not. Some courts have indicated, however, that a defendant who participates in developing third-party content should be classified as an ICP and thus be held liable. Confusion over the difference between an ISP and an ICP is applied to the case of news portals. This study investigates to what extent news portals should enjoy immunity from liability for defamation. To determine a news portal's exposure to liability, a continuum of involvement is proposed as a standard in which liability is based on a defendant's actions and not on the medium employed. A defendant's involvement with third-party content can be classified under the four levels of the continuum, which can guide courts in deciding whether a defendant is liable. Congress should amend Section 230 to incorporate the continuum and allow courts discretion in determining whether a defendant is immune from liability.     

Fisheries management in Jamaica,international perspectives

Abstract

This paper examines Jamaica's efforts to implement of the conservation and management provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), bearing in mind that prior to 1982 there was an existing legal framework that sought to address issues relating to fisheries management. More specifically, the paper looks at the issues related to the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks under UNCLOS and subsequent agreements negotiated under the auspices of UNCLOS. It also addresses the problems Jamaica faces with the conservation and management of Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas), in particular, the UNCLOS provisions regarding access to such resource, taking into account the limitations to such access as regulated by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).     

Book reviews

Stuart M. Kaye. International Fisheries Management. Kluwer Law International, The Hague, Netherlands, 2001. 606 pp. (hard cover). $172.00

Rosalee Love. Reefscape, Joseph Henry Press, Washington D.C., 2001. 264 pp. (hard cover). $24.95

Olav Schram Stokke (ed.), Governing High Seas Fisheries: The Interplay of Global and Regional Regimes, Oxford University Press, New York, 2001. 365 pp. (hard cover). $95.00

Norman J. Vig and Michael E. Kraft (eds.). Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty‐First Century. 4th ed. Congressional Quarterly Press, Washington D.C., 2000. 416 pp. (paperback). $39.95

Joseph Franke and Teresa M. Telecky. Reptiles as Pets: An Examination of the Trade in Live Reptiles in the United States. The Humane Society of the United States, Washington D.C. 2001. 146 pp. (paperback). $10     

Book reviews

The Animal Rights/Environmental Ethics Debate ‐ The Environmental Perspective Edited by Eugene C. Hargrove. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1992. Pp.xxvi, 261. Index. $19.95.