RESUMEN
Cold War interrogation scholarship generated a research literature that included many prominent 20th century psychologists. The return of Korean War prisoners, many of whom had confessed falsely or otherwise collaborated with the enemy during confinement, amplified the intense anti-Communist fears of the Cold War. These events prompted substantial military and other government responses. Many scholars in psychology committed their time, scholarship, and expertise to the protection of United States military personnel in the event of capture. In this article, we reconstruct some of these efforts, connecting them to psychologists' involvement in the more recent War on Terror. We argue that a critical historical awareness of these connections can help contemporary students, scholars, and practitioners of psychology to develop greater critical reflexivity about their work and its impact on society and to avoid unethical research and the potential misappropriation of psychological science to unethical ends. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Asunto(s)
Personal Militar , Prisioneros , Gobierno , Historia del Siglo XX , Humanos , Principios Morales , Psicología/historia , Sociedades , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
We assessed experimental false confession studies using a meta-analysis to evaluate the prevalence of false confessions across methodologies and several moderator variables. False confessions were more likely in typing task studies than in collaborative or individual cheating studies. In typing studies, speed of typing did not affect false confession rates, but placement of the forbidden key in locations that rendered errors less plausible lowered the false confession rates. False-evidence ploys increased the likelihood of false confessions. We explore implications for courts, expert witnesses, scholars, and police interrogators.
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Decepción , Aplicación de la Ley , Revelación de la Verdad , HumanosRESUMEN
Standards of proof define the degree to which jurors must be satisfied that a fact is true, and plaintiffs in civil lawsuits assume the burden of proving their claims to the requisite standard of proof. Three standards-preponderance of evidence, clear and convincing evidence, and beyond a reasonable doubt-are used by different jurisdictions in trials involving liability for punitive damages. We investigated whether individual mock jurors apply these standards appropriately by instructing them to read two personal injury trial summaries and to use one of three standards in either qualitative or quantitative format when deciding punitive liability. Results showed that jurors tended not to incorporate the standard into their judgments: defendants were just as likely to be found liable when the plaintiff's burden was high ("beyond a reasonable doubt") as when the burden was low ("preponderance of evidence"). The format of the instruction also had a negligible effect. We suggest that nonuse of the standard of proof is related to jurors' preferences for less effortful or experiential processing in situations involving complicated or ambiguous material.
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Compensación y Reparación/legislación & jurisprudencia , Toma de Decisiones , Juicio , Responsabilidad Legal/economía , Humanos , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
We studied mock jurors' evaluations of police false-evidence ploys across two false-evidence ploy information conditions (true or false confession). Study 1 participants evaluated lists of demeanor, testimonial, and scientific ploys and rated testimonial false-evidence ploys as more coercive than demeanor false-evidence ploys. Participants in the false-confession condition rated false-evidence ploys as more deceptive than did participants in the true-confession condition. Study 2 participants evaluated false-evidence ploy types within interrogation transcripts. Participants rated testimonial false-evidence ploys as more deceptive and coercive than demeanor false-evidence ploys; participants in the true-confession condition rated false-evidence ploys as more justified. Across studies, participants reading realistic transcripts rated false-evidence ploys as more deceptive and coercive. We discuss implications for scholars, attorneys, and interrogators.
Asunto(s)
Coerción , Decepción , Entrevistas como Asunto , Aplicación de la Ley/métodos , Policia , Revelación de la Verdad , Femenino , Humanos , Detección de Mentiras , MasculinoRESUMEN
Serious juvenile crimes require evaluation of a child as a criminal defendant in adult court. In such cases, it is crucial to understand jurors' attitudes, biases, and ability to follow legal instructions and maintain fairness. 308 undergraduate psychology students served as mock jurors, were randomly separated into four groups, and each group read the same realistic summary of a trial with the defendant's age presented as 13, 15, 17, or 21 years. Participants were asked to render guilty or not guilty verdicts and, if guilty, to suggest sentences. Chi-squared analysis indicated 13- and 15-year-old defendants were convicted less often than 17- and 21-year-old defendants, showing that jurors distinguished between juvenile defendants of different ages, but not minors and adults as defined by law. Additional analysis showed that age did not affect sentencing recommendations. Decision processes jurors use for juveniles tried as adults are discussed.
Asunto(s)
Derecho Penal/legislación & jurisprudencia , Delincuencia Juvenil/legislación & jurisprudencia , Violencia/legislación & jurisprudencia , Adolescente , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Femenino , Humanos , Responsabilidad Legal , Masculino , Factores Sexuales , Estudiantes/psicología , Violencia/psicología , Wisconsin , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
During interrogations, police may use false-evidence ploys or fabricated claims to convince suspects to confess. Mock jurors read trial materials containing interrogation transcripts with or without a false-evidence ploy and one of two expert witness conditions (present or absent). We examined jurors' verdicts, recommended sentences, and perceptions of the interrogation. Although factual evidence and the defendant's confession remained constant across conditions, false-evidence ploys led to fewer convictions and shorter sentences. Jurors also perceived interrogations with ploys as more deceptive and coercive. Expert testimony reduced convictions and increased interrogation deception and coercion ratings. Across ploy types, participants rated demeanor ploys as less deceptive and recommended longer sentences for confessors. Outcomes reveal important, previously unrecognized consequences of false-evidence ploys.
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Decepción , Testimonio de Experto/legislación & jurisprudencia , Revelación de la Verdad , Toma de Decisiones , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Percepción , Policia/ética , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
This jury simulation study explored the effects of liability-related descriptive information, severity of injury, and attitudes toward vengeance on damage awards. 311 individual mock jurors read a trial summary describing a plaintiff injured in a motor vehicle accident. Half of the participants read liability-related descriptive information, theoretically unrelated to judgments concerning damages, and the other half did not. Half read about a mildly injured plaintiff, and the other half read about a severely injured plaintiff. In Phase 1 participants decided compensatory awards and in Phase 2 participants read punitive damages evidence and decided, if appropriate, punitive damages. The presence of liability-related description influenced neither compensatory nor punitive damages. Severity of the plaintiff's injuries affected compensatory awards and punitive awards. Although revenge has historically played an integral role in punitive damages, participants' attitudes toward vengeance were not associated with punitive damage awards.
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Afecto , Actitud , Distinciones y Premios , Seguro de Responsabilidad Civil/economía , Heridas y Lesiones/economía , Humanos , Puntaje de Gravedad del TraumatismoRESUMEN
An experiment was designed to explore effects of general pretrial publicity in sexual assault trials. Four pretrial publicity conditions (no publicity, neutral news media, prodefendant, and antidefendant) in the form of simulated newspaper articles were presented to 356 participants. Participants subsequently read a mock rape trial summary and reported verdicts. In the absence of pretrial publicity related to sexual assault, women were more likely than men to convict the defendant, but the presence of sexual assault pretrial publicity in any form eliminated sex differences in conviction rates.
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Medios de Comunicación de Masas , Violación , Violencia , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMEN
139 junior and senior students enrolled in courses in the history of psychology at two universities were tested on the first day of class to assess general historical literacy, literacy in the history of psychology, and recognition of 51 important figures in the history of psychology. Serious deficiencies in their historical knowledge present important pedagogical implications for the teaching of the history of the discipline.