The American Psychology-Law Society scientific review paper on the collection and preservation of eyewitness identification evidence.

The lead article in this issue of Law and Human Behavior is "Policy and Procedure Recommendations for the Collection and Preservation of Eyewitness Identification Evidence" by Gary Wells and colleagues (2020). This special article is an official Scientific Review Paper (SRP) of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), Division 41 of the American Psychological Association (APA). This SRP is the product of an extensive, multistep vetting process designed to ensure that it represents the best research, analysis, and recommendations the AP-LS can provide. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Los psicólogos y el uso de tortura en interrogatorios / Psychologists and the use of torture in interrogations

En este artículo se argumenta que los psicólogos no deben participar en los interrogatorios que hacen uso de la tortura u otras formas de trato cruel, inhumano o degradante. La utilización de métodos de tortura es evaluada primero la luz de los códigos de ética profesional y de la ley internacional. A continuación, se hace una revisión de la investigación sobre los interrogatorios y confesiones falsas y se cuestiona su relevancia para los interrogatorios a base de tortura. Por último, se resume la investigación sobre las consecuencias negativas de la tortura para la salud mental en sobrevivientes y perpetradores. Basados en todo ello, llegamos a la conclusión de que la labor de los psicólogos en la planificación, el diseño, la asistencia o participación de interrogatorios que hacen uso de tortura u otros tratos crueles, inhumanos o degradantes es una violación de los principios éticos fundamentales y una violación del derecho internacional y nacional, a la vez que un modo ineficaz de extraer información fiable. La tortura produce traumatismos severos y de larga duración, así como otras consecuencias negativas para los individuos y para las sociedades que la apoyan. El artículo concluye con una serie de recomendaciones acerca de cómo la APA y otras organizaciones profesionales deben responder a la participación de psicólogos en los interrogatorios que hacen uso de la tortura u otras formas de trato cruel, inhumano o degradante...

This article argues that psychologists should not be involved in interrogations that make use of torture or other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. The use of torture is first evaluated in light of professional ethics codes and international law. Next, research on interrogations and false confessions is reviewed and its relevance for torture-based interrogations is explored. Finally, research on the negative mental health consequences of torture for survivors and perpetrators is summarized. Based on our review, we conclude that psychologists' involvement in designing, assisting with, or participating in interrogations that make use of torture or other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment is a violation of fundamental ethical principles, a violation of international and domestic law, and an ineffective means of extracting reliable information. Torture produces severe and lasting trauma as well as other negative consequences for individuals and for the societies that support it. The article concludes with several recommendations about how APA and other professional organizations should respond to the involvement of psychologists in interrogations that make use of torture or other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment.

Reducing racial bias in the penalty phase of capital trials.

Past research (e.g. Lynch & Haney, 2000) has shown that race plays a significant role in juror decision making in the penalty phase of capital murder trials. This study investigates the possibility of reducing juror bias towards Blacks by altering the content of jury instructions. White and non-White participants received trial information and jury instructions in which the defendant's race (Black or White) and the instruction type (standard or simplified) were manipulated. Participants rendered a sentence recommendation, identified factors they considered to be aggravating or mitigating, and responded to instruction comprehension questions. Bias against the Black defendant was significantly reduced when simplified instructions were used and when the defendant was judged by racially diverse jurors. Simplification also led to better comprehension of sentencing instructions. Implications for capital trials are discussed.

Predictors of verdict and punitive damages in high-stakes civil litigation.

This research investigated demographic and attitudinal- psychological predictors of verdict and amount of punitive damages awarded in high-stakes civil litigation. Four hundred and forty-six surrogate jurors, selected to be representative of actual jurors, were exposed to realistic case presentations in insurance, tobacco, and pharmaceutical cases that were about to go to trial. Hierarchical regression revealed that perceptions of the existence of a litigation crisis predicted verdict in the tobacco and pharmaceutical cases after controlling for all other variables. Demographic variables predicted verdict and punitive damage awards only modestly and in different ways in the three cases. Need for cognition, strength of will and rationality, and a perception that there is a litigation crisis predicted the amount of punitive damages awarded in the tobacco case. Litigation crisis also predicted the amount of punitive damages awarded in the pharmaceutical case. Implications for jury selection are discussed.

Sexual harassment stories: testing a story-mediated model of juror decision-making in civil litigation.

The story model of juror decision-making proposes that jurors use personal experience and information presented at trial to create stories that guide their verdicts. This model has received strong empirical support in studies using criminal cases. The research presented here extends the story model to civil litigation and tests a story-mediated model against an unmediated model of jury decision-making. In Phase 1, content analysis of mock juror responses to 4 realistic sexual harassment cases revealed prototypic plaintiff and defense stories. In Phase 2, these prototypic stories were included as mediators in a model predicting verdicts in 4 additional sexual harassment cases. Mock juror attitudes, experiences, and demographics were assessed, then attorneys presented abbreviated versions of 4 actual sexual harassment cases. Path analyses provided support for the story-mediated model, which added significantly to the amount of variance accounted for in the outcome measures of verdict, commitment to verdict, and confidence times verdict. Implications for sexual harassment and other types of civil cases are discussed.