Examining the predictors of juvenile probation officers' rehabilitation orientation

According to the importation model, individual attributes such as gender and race influence correctional orientation. In contrast, the work/role model contends that differences in correctional orientation are due to work experiences and environment. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether individual attributes, work-related experiences, and perceptions of one's own cultural competency and juveniles' social supports predicted rehabilitation orientation for one hundred juvenile probation officers working within an organization framework that favored a balanced approach to juvenile justice. Multiple regression results indicated that the importation variables were not predictive of rehabilitation orientation, either as a set or individually. The work/role model and the perception variable sets predicted rehabilitation orientation. Employment type and perceptions of social support were most strongly related to rehabilitation orientation. The study's unique contribution stems from its use of unordered sets analyses to examine the relative validity of theoretical grounded sets of variables.     

Sharing the Fruit of Labor: Flexible Application of Justice Principles in an Ultimatum Game with Joint-Production

Individuals often need to negotiate how to distribute jointly produced goods—equally (e.g., 50:50) or equitably (e.g., proportionally to their contributions). We examined whether people have stable preferences, or whether they switch between equality and equity in different situations. Pairs of anonymous participants first produced a common pie, and then distributed it in an ultimatum game. Results suggest that individuals apply different justice principles depending on their contribution. When they produced less than 50%, proposers divided the pie equally. However, when they produced more than 50%, their offers fell between equality and equity. Responders’ ratings of fairness and satisfaction varied similarly; with low production, equality was preferred, whereas with high production, equity was preferred. Nevertheless, equal and equitable offers were generally accepted, and only outright unfair offers were rejected. This suggests that individuals are relatively flexible about which justice principle should be applied, but punish proposers whose offers violate both principles.     

Islamophobia pre- and post-September 11th, 2001

Although much academic research has addressed racism, religious discrimination has been largely ignored. The current study investigates levels of self-reported racial and religious discrimination in a sample of 222 British Muslims. Respondents indicate that following September 11th, 2001, levels of implicit or indirect discrimination rose by 82.6% and experiences of overt discrimination by 76.3%. Thus, the current work demonstrates that major world events may affect not only stereotypes of minority groups but also prejudice toward minorities. Results suggest that religious affiliation may be a more meaningful predictor of prejudice than race or ethnicity. General Health Questionnaire scores indicate that 35.6% of participants likely suffered mental health problems, with significant associations between problem-indicative scores and reports of experiencing a specific abusive incident of September 11th-related abuse by respondents. The dearth of empirical work pertaining to religious discrimination and its effects is a cause for concern.     

Adolescents' evaluations of Peers' motives for helping

Four groups of high-school students (N=92) were each informed about a pair of helpers, either male or female, who independently helped a sameor opposite-sex peer. Within each pair of same-sex helpers, one was presented as having helped for empathic reasons and the other was presented as having helped for nonempathic reasons. The adolescents' ratings of the helpers indicated that they generally favored empathically motivated helping in both male and female peers. However, a female helper who did not express sensitivity and emotional responsiveness to the feelings of the needy other in her prosocial moral reasoning tended to be judged more harshly by the adolescents than did a male helper who failed to express such sentiments.Received Ph. D. from Northwestern University. Research interests include empathy and prosocial behavior.All received B.S. in psychology from Kansas State University in 1987.     

The Applicability of the Lamendin Method to Skeletal Remains Buried for a 16-Year Period: A Cautionary Note

The Lamendin method is widely reported as one of the most reliable means of age estimation of skeletal remains, but very little is known concerning the influence of burial in soil. This study aimed at verifying the reliability of the Lamendin method on corpses buried for 16 years in a cemetery. The Lamendin and the Prince and Ubelaker methods were applied. In all age groups except the 40- to 49-year–olds, the error was higher in the buried sample. The age-at-death error ranged between 10.7 and 36.8 years for the Lamendin method (vs. the reported 7.3–18.9 years) and 9.5 and 35.7 for the Prince and Ubelaker one (vs. the original 5.2–32.6 years); in all age groups, the error is closer to that found on archeological populations. These results suggest caution in applying the Lamendin method to forensic cases of human remains buried even for a brief period under soil.