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Walczyk, J.J., Griffith, D.A., Yates, R., Visconte, S., & Simoneaux. B.
Accurate lie detection is crucial for fighting terrorism and for advancing justice. New theoretically-undergirded methods are needed to replace the polygraph-based Control Question Test (National Research Council, 2003). We tested a promising one in a mock crime, Time Restricted Integrity-Confirmation (Walczyk et al., 2005), which selectively induces cognitive load on liars. Also, for the first time, the effects of rehearsal, a likely load-reducing countermeasure, were assessed on the cognitive cues of response times, answer wordiness and consistency, eye movement, and pupil dilation. After "stealing" money during a job interview, participants were randomly assigned to either a truth telling, an unrehearsed lying, or a rehearsed lying condition and then were interrogated. Among the important findings were that truthful answers to multiple-response questions (versus yes/no) were quicker than deceptive answers. Liars had wordier answers, especially when rehearsed, and more inconsistencies. Truth tellers had the fewest eye movements and rehearsed liars had the most, suggesting that liars may be able to reduce cognitive load by briefly breaking eye contact with another. Discriminant analyses revealed liar-truth teller classification accuracies from 67% to 84%, with few false positives.
Rhodes, T.N., & Clinkinbeard, S.S.
The present study draws on Ajzen's (1985, 1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explore the relationships between students' intentions to drink responsibly, students' perceptions of control over their behavior, and their reported levels of drinking. We relied on a randomly selected and surveyed sample of 149 students at a Midwestern university. We hypothesized students who reported stronger intentions and greater perceived control would report reduced levels of drinking. Our findings indicated that respondents who intended to drink responsibly and scored higher on two measures of perceptions of control consumed less alcohol 10 days prior to the survey and binged less frequently in the past month. The findings further support the TPB and provide implications for prevention and control strategies.
Jung, S., Allison, M., & Bohn, L.
The present study examined the influence of physical evidence in support of an alibi, type of crime, and alibi salaciousness on the verdict, sentencing, and credibility perceptions of 317 undergraduate mock jurors who read fabricated police and court summaries. Alibis substantiated by physical evidence were accompanied by fewer guilty verdicts, higher believability, and more positive character ratings. Although salaciousness did not influence trial outcomes and alibi believability, it interacted with physical evidence to produce less positive character ratings. The results also revealed that the crime type had a main effect on assigning prison sentences with sexual offenses leading to a greater likelihood of assigning a prison sentence. When participants espoused more conservative views, they were more likely to give guilty verdicts and negatively evaluate the defendant. The finding further indicated that those who gave guilty verdict decisions (over not guilty) saw alibis as less believable and perceived the defendant and corroborator more negatively.
Trahan, A., & Stewart, D.M.
The divide between qualitative and quantitative research limits our ability to reach a cohesive understanding of crime and criminal justice in the 21st century. Mixed-methods research, which combines qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study, can circumvent this impasse. This paper outlines an easily accessible framework for conducting mixedmethods research. Different mixed-methods designs and the unique advantages of each are presented. The paper also provides a guide on how to carry out mixed-methods studies that involves using thematic analysis as the qualitative component of the research. Examples are provided from our own research which illustrates the techniques and advantages of this approach.