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Volume 3 Issue 1

The relationship between confidence and accuracy: Current thoughts of the literature and a new area of research

Krug, K.

Traditionally known as the confidence-accuracy (CA) relationship, the assumption is that as o­ne's confidence increases so does thier level of accuracy. The research literature has addressed the CA relationship along three main lines: examining rates of confidence and accuracy in memory for general knowledge (factual information), determining if the CA relationship can be divided into subsections in which performance levels are consistent, and developing measures to raise the value of the CA relationship. The literature outlining the role of the CA relationship in criminal suspect identification is indeed extensive, but there is little mention of a new field of interest in which the CA relationship is applied to eyewitness memory for product brand names.

Citizen's police academies: Beliefs and Perceptions regarding the program

Pope, J., Jones, T., Cook, S., & Waltrip, B.

The Citizens Police Academy (CPA) has gained widespread popularity across the United States. For many police departments, the academies represent a way for local citizens to interact with law enforcement officials in a positive setting. The current study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the academy in increasing community members' knowledge and understanding of the police department. The results showed significant differences regarding citizens' perceptions of law enforcement and knowledge of the department before and after participation in the academy. The findings suggest that academies are successful in increasing citizen's knowledge of the department and positively influencing community relations. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Relationship attachment and the behaviour of fans towards celebrities

Roberts, K. A.

This study examined psychological characteristics of fans associated with self-reported attempts to approach celebrities. Two hundred undergraduate students (100 male, 100 female) completed a questionnaire consisting of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000) and a scale measuring frequency of self-reported attempts to contact a favourite celebrity. Multiple regression revealed a statistically significant positive association between attachment related anxiety, and a negative association between attachment related avoidance and the frequency of self reported approach behaviour towards a celebrity, which is consistent with a preoccupied attachment style. The implications of these findings for theories of stalking and harassment of celebrities are discussed.

Cognitive distortions and social self-esteem in sexual offenders

Pervan, S., & Hunter, M.

This study examined the cognitive distortions concerning sexual offending behaviour and social self-esteem of four groups of men (child molesters, rapists, violent offenders, and a control group of university students) using the Bumby RAPE and MOLEST Scales, the Social Self-Esteem Inventory, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. The Bumby RAPE Scale did not discriminate convincingly between the groups, although the Bumby MOLEST scale did find less disagreement with cognitive distortions among child molesters compared to rapists and violent offenders, but not less than university students. Social self-esteem scores varied between groups with the child molesters showing the lowest self-esteem scores. Furthermore, offenders with high self-esteem selected more pro-social responses than did offenders with low self-esteem.