ABSTRACT
This pilot study explores the balancing of conflicting family and forensic commitments among forensic experts. Drawing upon consumer preference theory and behavioral economics, the authors devised an instrument to elicit choices between upholding family commitments and professional commitments. The instrument was administered to 15 forensic experts, and the data were used to construct trading functions for each individual. These functions were examined to reveal the decision-making process behind balancing conflicting sets of commitments. The study also examined the relationship between the trading functions and each participant's attitude toward the role of the expert witness, as well as some personal characteristics.
Subject(s)
Conflict of Interest , Expert Testimony/legislation & jurisprudence , Family/psychology , Forensic Psychiatry , Decision Making , Humans , Job Satisfaction , Physician's RoleABSTRACT
Branch (The Behavior Therapist 10, 79-84, 1987) and others have expressed interest in extending the behavior analytic framework into the realm of behavior therapy and private events. We point out that several imagery-based behavior therapy procedures such as systematic desensitization, implosive therapy, and covert conditioning were designed to be employed according to learning principles and that covert conditioning is specifically based on principles of operant conditioning. Since the covert conditioning model already combines the advantages of behavior analysis, behavior therapy, and imagery, covert conditioning, rather than cognitive therapy, should be considered by behavior analysts seeking ways to study and modify both private and public events.
