An attempt to reduce guessing behavior in children's and adults' eyewitness identifications

The effects of age of witness, gender of witness, lineup presentation, and practice on eyewitness testimony were investigated. Ninety-six elementary-school children and 96 college students viewed a slide sequence of a crime, followed by target-present or target-absent photo identification in sequentially or simultaneously presented lineups. Prior to photo identification, half the subjects received a practice lineup. Children had a higher rate of choosing than adults, resulting in more foil identification errors in both target-present and target-absent lineups. Without prior practice, sequential presentation as compared to simultaneous presentation reduced errors in target-absent lineups for adult witnesses and showed a similar but nonsignificant reduction for child witnesses. With prior practice, sequential presentation lost the advantage over simultaneous presentation in target-absent error reduction. Practice reduced target-absent errors in simultaneous-presentation lineups for both age groups.     

Jean Devanny

Carole Ferrier (ed), Point of Departure: the Autobiography of Jean Devanny (University of Queensland Press) St Lucia, Queensland, 1986.     

Adolescent response to the death of a parent

Participants in the present study, while between the ages of 12 and 19, had a parent die. The death had occurred not less than 6 months and not more than 5 years prior to psychological testing and interview. The effects of loss, as assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory and other measures, were considered in relation to a number of independent factors. Factors found to influence healthy adaptation included high levels of informal social support postloss, good relations with the surviving parent prior to loss, a balanced personality style, and presence of religious beliefs.Received Ph.D. in psychology from University of Toronto. Research interest is applied clinical research.     

Against canons: Liberating the social sciences

She is author of The Origins American Social Science,a study of economics, sociology, political science, and history from their eighteenth-century roots to 1929.     

Cycles in senatorial voting behavior: implications for the optimal frequency of elections

The effect that the length of electoral periods has on the behavior of elected officials is examined. The hypothesis is that the longer the period between elections the less responsible or the more independent representatives will behave relative to the desires of their polity. The hypothesis is tested by examining the behavior of U.S. Senators. It is found that their independence follows a cyclical behavior which conforms to the electoral period. As a result it is by no means clear that decreasing the frequency of elections reduces the cost of elections. The effect of this independence cost on the optimal frequency of elections is discussed.     

Cardiac sarcoidosis with spontaneous rupture of the right ventricle

A 56-year-old woman died suddenly and unexpectedly of a cardiac tamponade due to spontaneous rupture of the right ventricle. The cardiac rupture occurred on the basis of clinically unsuspected cardiac sarcoidosis. Sudden death due to spontaneous rupture of a cardiac chamber is a previously unreported complication of sarcoidosis.