Identifying unfamiliar voices: Examining the system variables of sample duration and parade size.

Voice identification parades can be unreliable due to the error-prone nature of earwitness responses. UK government guidelines recommend that voice parades should have nine voices, each played for 60 s. This makes parades resource-consuming to construct. In this article, we conducted two experiments to see if voice parade procedures could be simplified. In Experiment 1 (N = 271, 135 female), we investigated if reducing the duration of the voice samples on a nine-voice parade would negatively affect identification performance using both conventional logistic and signal detection approaches. In Experiment 2 (N = 270, 136 female), we first explored if the same sample duration conditions used in Experiment 1 would lead to different outcomes if we reduced the parade size to include only six voices. Following this, we pooled the data from both experiments to investigate the influence of target-position effects. The results show that 15-s sample durations result in statistically equivalent voice identification performance to the longer 60-s sample durations, but that the 30-s sample duration suffers in terms of overall signal sensitivity. This pattern of results was replicated using both a nine- and a six-voice parade. Performance on target-absent parades were at chance levels in both parade sizes, and response criteria were mostly liberal. In addition, unwanted position effects were present. The results provide initial evidence that the sample duration used in a voice parade may be reduced, but we argue that the guidelines recommending a parade with nine voices should be maintained to provide additional protection for a potentially innocent suspect given the low target-absent accuracy.

Victimization as a Result of Non-Consensual Dissemination of Sexting and Psychopathology Correlates: An Exploratory Analysis.

Sexting is generally known as creating, sending and/or forwarding of sexual content using electronic devices. When such content is non-consensually disseminated, it becomes a criminally relevant behavior. To date, very few empirical studies have examined the prevalence of non-consensual dissemination of sexting, and none of them have analyzed the relationship with psychopathology and further victimization outcomes. Therefore, the aims of this study were (1) to examine the prevalence of non-consensual dissemination of sexual content, (2) to analyze the prevalence of further victimization as a result of non-consensual dissemination of sexting and (3) to investigate the association between secondary victimization as a result of non-consensual dissemination of sexting and psychopathology. The sample comprised 1370 Spanish college students (73.6% female; mean age = 21.4 years; SD = 4.85) who answered an online survey about their engagement in sexting behaviors, online sexual victimization and psychopathology, measured by a sexting scale and the Listado de Síntomas Breve (LSB-50), respectively. Overall, 43 participants (3.14) were victims of non-consensual dissemination of sexting, and results showed those participants who had suffered further victimization reported higher psychopathology scores than those who were not victimized and that being victimized by an ex-partner was associated with poorer mental health outcomes in the victim. Further implications are discussed.

Exploring Sexting and Online Sexual Victimization during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has impacted daily routines, forcing people to stop socializing in person and changing the way people express their feelings and their romantic or sexual interactions. Social distancing has changed the way people behave online, and we expect that engagement in sexting and online sexual victimization behaviors have increased during lockdown. The aim of this paper is to study the prevalence of sexting and online sexual victimization behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdown in Spanish adults in order to explore how social distancing has affected these behaviors. The sample comprised 293 Spanish adults (mean age = 30.3; 66.2% female) who took part in an online survey about their engagement in sexting behaviors and online sexual victimization experiences. Overall results were apparently not supportive of our main hypothesis, showing that both sexting engagement and online sexual victimization decreased during lockdown despite the increase in internet use. Apart from differences in time period of reference, some alternative hypotheses relate to the increased presence of capable guardians according to the routine activities theory and to forced distance as a demotivation to sext. Possible explanations and hypotheses for these results are discussed further in the paper.

Sexting, Online Sexual Victimization, and Psychopathology Correlates by Sex: Depression, Anxiety, and Global Psychopathology.

Recent research on sexting highlighted a relationship between this new technology-mediated behavior and psychopathology correlates, although up to date results are mixed, and so far, studies have often used simple and not clinically validated measures of mental health. This study aimed to investigate sexting behaviors, online sexual victimization, and related mental health correlates using clinically validated measures for global psychopathology, anxiety, and depression; and doing so separately for men and women. The sample consisted of 1370 Spanish college students (73.6% female; 21.4 mean age; SD = 4.85) who took part in an online survey about their engagement in sexting behaviors, online sexual victimization behaviors, and psychopathological symptomatology, measured by a sexting scale and the Listado de Síntomas Breve (brief symptom checklist) (LSB-50), respectively. Out of our total sample, 37.1% of participants had created and sent their own sexual content (active sexting), 60.3% had received sexual content (passive sexting), and 35.5% had both sent and received sexual content, with significant differences between male and female engagement in passive sexting. No differences were found between men and women in the prevalence of their victimization by nonconsensual dissemination of sexual content; however, women were more pressured and threatened into sexting than men. Sex differences in psychopathology were found only for depression prevalence rates but not for global psychopathology or anxiety. Furthermore, for male participants, our results showed a significant association only between online sexual victimization and psychopathology but not for consensual active and passive sexting. However, for the female participants, active sexting, passive sexting, and online sexual victimization were all associated with poorer mental health. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

A re-examination of the acquittal biasing effect of offence seriousness.

The justice system should operate free of bias, and jurors' judgements of a defendant's guilt should be based on evidential factors alone. However, research suggests that this is not always the case. The aim of this study is to investigate the biasing effect of offence seriousness - a case-related, extralegal factor - on juror decision-making. An experiment was conducted to examine the effect of this extralegal factor on 118 members of the jury-eligible public's interpretations of 'beyond reasonable doubt' (BRD), probability of commission, verdict and confidence in verdict. It was found that defendants charged with more serious offences were judged to be less likely to have committed the crime. However, offence seriousness was not found to have a significant effect on interpretations of BRD and verdict. The present findings suggest a need to instruct jurors on the application of legal (probative) factors alone.

Violent Poly-Victimization: The Longitudinal Patterns of Physical and Emotional Victimization Throughout Adolescence (11-17 Years).

In this study, we aimed to characterize developmental patterns of poly-victimization in a normative sample of adolescents by applying longitudinal latent class analysis. Using the four most recent waves of data from the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths (z-proso), we identified three classes, or separate groups, of youths with distinct patterns of victimization from age 11 to 17. The largest class represented young people who were least likely to be victimized in any way and at any time. The two smaller groups represented different types of poly-victimization-a non-parental and a long-term parental victimization group. Adolescents in the two groups differed both in the number as well as type of victimization that they experienced at different times. Moreover, class membership also had implications for different mental health outcomes.

Sexual victimization of youth with a physical disability: an examination of prevalence rates, and risk and protective factors.

Children with disabilities have been shown to be at greater risk of victimization than those without. Although much of the research combines disability of any type into a single disability category, recent evidence suggests that not all types of disabilities are equally associated with victimization. To date, little knowledge exists about the victimization of youth with physical disabilities. This study used data from a national school-based survey of adolescents (n = 6,749, mean age = 15.41, SD = .66) in Switzerland to investigate sexual victimization (SV) among physically disabled youth. Two subtypes of SV were differentiated: contact SV, including penetration or touching/kissing, and non-contact SV, such as exhibitionism, verbal harassment, exposure to sexual acts, or cyber SV. A total of 360 (5.1%) youth self-identified as having a physical disability. Lifetime prevalence rates for contact SV were 25.95% for girls with a physical disability (odds ratio [OR] = 1.29 compared with able-bodied girls), 18.50% for boys with physical disability (OR = 2.78 compared with able-bodied boys), and 22.35% for the total sample with physical disability (OR = 1.74 compared with able-bodied youth). For non-contact SV, the lifetime prevalence was 48.11% for girls with a physical disability (OR = 1.44 compared with able-bodied girls), 31.76% for boys with physical disability (OR = 1.95 compared with able-bodied boys), and 40.28% for the total sample with physical disability (OR = 1.67 compared with able-bodied youth). After controlling for other risk factors, physical disability was a significant predictor of contact and non-contact SV for boys, but not for girls.

Cultural variation in the correlates of flashbulb memories: an investigation in five countries.

Flashbulb memory (FBM) refers to the vivid memory for the context of learning about a public news event. Past research has identified a number of factors that influence the formation of FBM, such as the importance of the event, the experience of intense emotions, and the amount of post-event rehearsal. Although such factors may be universal in predicting FBM formation across cultures, they may differentially impact FBM given different cultural belief systems and practices. In the present study we investigated the moderating effect of culture for various predictors of FBM in five countries: China, Germany, Turkey, the UK, and the USA. Results indicated that the effects of national importance and rehearsal of the reception context were consistent across cultures. In contrast, culture moderated the effects of personal importance, emotionality, surprise, and event rehearsal. In all cases the effects of these variables were significantly smaller in the Chinese sample.

Effects of offenders' age and health on sentencing decisions.

Two experiments investigated the effects of age and health on mock judges' sentencing decisions. The effects of these variables on length of prison sentence were examined in the context of offense severity and prior convictions. Experiment 1 involved a violent crime. Main effects were observed for age, health, offense severity and prior convictions. There was also an age by offense severity interaction. Experiment 2 involved a child sexual abuse case. Main effects were observed for health, offense severity, and prior convictions. In addition, an age by offense severity by prior convictions interaction effect was found. Thus, across both experiments, the age leniency effect was moderated by legal factors, suggesting that extra-legal factors affect sentencing in the context of legal factors. Further, for both offenses, offenders in poor health received shorter sentences than offenders in good health, suggesting that health deserves further research attention as an extra-legal variable.

The perceived credibility of older adults as witnesses and its relation to ageism.

In experiment 1, 267 undergraduates read a case summary and witness statement. Sex and age of the witness (49, 69, 79 or 89 years) were varied. Participants rated the witness's perceived convincingness, confidence, quality of observation, accuracy, honesty, competence, memory, suggestibility, and cognitive functioning. As well as an age effect for honesty, age by sex interactions were observed for several characteristics, particularly for comparisons of the 79-year-olds versus the 49-year-olds, and 89-year-olds versus the 49-year-olds. In experiment 2, 94 undergraduates read the same testimony given by a 79-year-old male or female witness, and completed the Fraboni Scale of Ageism and the Aging Semantic Differential. Participants who evidenced stronger aging stereotypes on these measures rated the witness less favorably than did participants who were less prejudiced. This experiment is the first to show a link between perceived credibility of older adults and ageist attitudes. Practical applications regarding how older witnesses are viewed by jurors, and the criminal justice system more generally, are discussed.

Is tenure justified? An experimental study of faculty beliefs about tenure, promotion, and academic freedom.

The behavioral sciences have come under attack for writings and speech that affront sensitivities. At such times, academic freedom and tenure are invoked to forestall efforts to censure and terminate jobs. We review the history and controversy surrounding academic freedom and tenure, and explore their meaning across different fields, at different institutions, and at different ranks. In a multifactoral experimental survey, 1,004 randomly selected faculty members from top-ranked institutions were asked how colleagues would typically respond when confronted with dilemmas concerning teaching, research, and wrong-doing. Full professors were perceived as being more likely to insist on having the academic freedom to teach unpopular courses, research controversial topics, and whistle-blow wrong-doing than were lower-ranked professors (even associate professors with tenure). Everyone thought that others were more likely to exercise academic freedom than they themselves were, and that promotion to full professor was a better predictor of who would exercise academic freedom than was the awarding of tenure. Few differences emerged related either to gender or type of institution, and behavioral scientists' beliefs were similar to scholars from other fields. In addition, no support was found for glib celebrations of tenure's sanctification of broadly defined academic freedoms. These findings challenge the assumption that tenure can be justified on the basis of fostering academic freedom, suggesting the need for a re-examination of the philosophical foundation and practical implications of tenure in today's academy.