The counterfactual fallacy: Confusing what might have been with what ought to have been

The thesis of this article is that reactions to misfortunes are often biased by the counterfactual fallacy: the tendency to view events that can easily be imagined otherwise as events that ought not to have been. Drawing upon a diverse set of empirical findings we demonstrate that victims' and observers' reactions to misfortunes depend on the extent to which the event prompts them to generate counterfactual thoughts or images of more positive alternatives. We discuss the factors that determine the ease with which a negative event can be imagined otherwise, along with their relevance to a variety of justice-relevant responses, including perceptions of deservingness, recommendations for compensation, and blame assignment.     

The impact of the right to refuse treatment in a forensic patient population: six-month review

In December of 1987, the Wisconsin supreme court held that all involuntarily committed mental patients in the state had the right to refuse psychotropic medication unless a court held that they were incompetent to make treatment decisions. The authors studied the effects of this decision in a 165-bed forensic hospital over the first six months after implementation of the decision. They found that 29 percent of patients already on psychotropic medication initially refused further treatment as opposed to 75 percent of newly admitted patients. Of refusers, 32 percent eventually resumed taking medication voluntarily; courts overturned the refusals of all the 51 percent who maintained their refusals, after an average delay of over a month. The length of procedural delays actually increased over the six months of the study as the courts learned of the decision. The authors compare their findings with other reported studies of implementation of right to refuse treatment decisions and discuss differences between the right to refuse treatment for civilly and criminally committed patients.     

Is crime scene examination science, and does it matter anyway?

This short piece aims to assess the kind of data collected by Crime Scene Examiners (CSEs), and to discuss whether this collection constitutes a scientific process. It also seeks to examine the balance of roles performed by the CSE, between data gatherer and investigator. The piece also aims to conclude on whether a clearer understanding of the structure of data collected by CSEs might be of some practical use in developing a greater understanding of the architecture of knowledge that forensic science as a whole relies upon. As a piece of work it is unapologetically theoretical in its perspective, and seeks to prompt further discussion regarding the structure of scientific knowledge, and any relevance this might have to its application in a forensic context. Ultimately, it seeks the inclusion of the processes of data gathering performed largely by CSEs within the wider processes of forensic science.     

Teaching forensic psychiatry to medical students

Are separate courses on forensic psychiatry available for medical students? During the 1985 to 1986 academic year, the authors surveyed all U.S. medical schools to identify courses on forensic/legal psychiatry. A minority of schools included separate courses or practicums on forensic psychiatry or mental health law. In a follow-up telephone survey, instructors of each of these courses were interviewed. Information was obtained on format of course, duration, discipline of instructor or instructors, topics covered, reading materials, institutional settings, and the number of students who took the course. The results are discussed and compared with earlier surveys.     

Investment mobilization and capacity completion in the Chinese and Soviet economies

This paper examines the relationship between the mobilization of resources into capital projects and the completion of new productive capacity in two ‘shortage’ economies—China and the USSR. Causes of delayed commissioning of new capacity, and the role of unfinished construction in the investment cycle, are analysed. Annual data over a long period are presented for both economies—for the USSR 1928–37 and 1950–83, and for China 1950–82. Changes over time in the relationship between investment mobilization and capacity completion are considered, along with differences and similarities between the records of the two economies under investigation.