| 1. |
- Ask, Karl, 1978, et al.
(författare)
-
Why emotions matter: A test of stereotype and empathy accounts of the 'emotional victim effect'
- 2009
-
Ingår i: 19th Conference of the European Association of Psychology and Law, 2-5 September, Sorrento, Italy.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has been shown repeatedly that rape victims displaying controlled behavior when recounting the crime are judged as less credible than victims displaying negative emotions. Researchers have assumed that this is a result of stereotypes about crime victim reactions, but the actual mechanism has never been tested directly. In this paper, an alternative account is presented, proposing that the advantage of the emotional victim could lie in its ability to invoke stronger empathic-emotional reactions in the observer. The two accounts were pitted against each other in an experiment: Should the stereotype account be correct, then placing the observer under cognitive load would increase the effect of a victim’s emotional display. In contrast, should the empathy account be correct, then cognitive load would reduce the effect. One hundred eighty-nine police trainees watched a videotaped statement of an actress portraying a rape victim. The victim’s emotional display (emotional vs. neutral) and observers’ cognitive load while watching the statement (additional memory task vs. no memory task) were manipulated. Results showed that the emotional victim was believed more than the neutral victim, and that the effect was stronger under cognitive load. In addition, the effect was fully mediated by the match between the woman’s actual behavior and observers’ expectations. No evidence for a meditational role of observers’ own emotional reactions was found. In sum, the study provides empirical support for the traditional stereotype account, and has clear practical implications, showing that cognitive load increases the risk of attributional errors in judgments of victim credibility.
|
|
| 2. |
- Magnusson, Mikaela, 1992, et al.
(författare)
-
Smell and Tell: Evoking Past Memories Using a Vanilla Odour
- 2014
-
Ingår i: The 7th annual conference of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG). Lausanne, Switzerland, 4-6 June 2014.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Odours have continuously been identified as effective memory cues to evoke past memories. The purpose of the present experiment was therefore to investigate if odour exposure during encoding and retrieval would facilitate memory recall. A 2 (Encoding: odour vs. no odour) x 2 (Retrieval: odour vs. no odour) between-subjects design was employed with 75 adolescents (Experiment I) and 97 undergraduate students (Experiment II). Amount and accuracy of recalled details from a video segment functioned as dependent variables. Both experiments showed that participants exposed to a vanilla odour during the memory test had a higher accuracy rate, compared to participants not exposed to vanilla during retrieval. Utilizing a pleasant odour may, thus, be very beneficial in an investigative interview setting. Not only could the odour enhance accuracy, smelling a pleasant scent during an investigative interview might also have positive effects (e.g. rapport building, mood and behavioural effects) on both the interviewer and the interviewee.
|
|
| 3. |
- Portnoy, Shiri, et al.
(författare)
-
Beliefs about suspect alibis: A survey of lay people in the United Kingdom, Israel, and Sweden
- 2020
-
Ingår i: The International Journal of Evidence & Proof. - : SAGE Publications. - 1365-7127 .- 1740-5572. ; 24:1, s. 59-74
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During police interviews, innocent suspects may provide unconvincing alibis due to impaired memory processes or guilt-presumptive behaviour on behalf of the interviewer. Consequently, innocent suspects may be prosecuted and tried in court, where lay people who serve jury duty will assess their alibi’s credibility. To examine lay people’s beliefs and knowledge regarding suspect alibis, and specifically about such factors that may hamper innocent suspects’ ability to provide convincing alibis, we administered an eight-question questionnaire across the United Kingdom (n = 96), Israel (n = 124), and Sweden (n = 123). Participants did not tend to believe that innocent suspects’ alibis might inadvertently include incorrect details, but acknowledged that impaired memory processes may cause this. Additionally, most participants believed that a presumption of guilt can affect how interviewers interview suspects. The findings suggest that lay people who may serve jury duty hold some mistaken beliefs regarding alibi provision by suspects.
|
|
| 4. |
- Adolfsson, Kerstin, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Blame Attributions in Multiple Perpetrator Rape Cases: The Impact of Sympathy, Consent, Force, and Beliefs
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Journal of Interpersonal Violence. - : SAGE Publications. - 0886-2605 .- 1552-6518. ; 35:23-24, s. 5336-5364
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Victims of multiple perpetrator rape (MPR) have been found to be an especially vulnerable group. This study examined effects of MPR and perpetrators’ use of force on attributions of victim and perpetrator blame. In two large experiments (total N = 2,928), Swedish community members read scenarios depicting an MPR and subsequently made several ratings of blame, rape myth acceptance (RMA), just world beliefs, sympathy for the victim, perception of consent, and trust in the legal system. Data were analyzed with a multianalytical approach using both analyses of variance as well as exploratory analyses. In Experiment 1, more blame was attributed to a victim of MPR than a victim of a lone perpetrator rape (LPR). In Experiment 2, no effect of used force was found on levels of attributed blame. In both experiments, hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that four components, identified through principal components analyses, explained substantial shares of the variance in both victim and perpetrator blame. The best individual predictors were participants’ perception of consent, sympathy for the victim, and RMA. The study shows the importance of studying participants’ beliefs and attitudes about rape and that victim-blaming research needs both theory development and greater methodological awareness. Implications for victim support services are also discussed.
|
|
| 5. |
- Adolfsson, Kerstin, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Hur ser yrkesverksamma på sitt arbete med våldtäktsutredningar och bemötande av utsatta?
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Brottsoffermyndighetens viktimologiska forskarkonferens, Stockholm, 21 november, 2017.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tidigare psykologisk forskning har fokuserat på varför utsatta inte vill anmäla sexualbrott eller väljer att hoppa av under utredningen. I denna studie svarade 237 polisanställda, åklagare och sjukvårdspersonal på en webbenkät med syfte att fånga upp deras perspektiv på att arbeta med våldtäktsfall och bemöta personer som blivit utsatta för våldtäkt. Frågorna gällde hinder i deras yrkesutförande, om de kunde se rutiner i deras arbete som kan uppfattas som stötande ur de utsattas perspektiv, förtroende för rättsväsendet, falska anmälningar samt kunskap om reaktioner och beteenden hos våldtäktsutsatta. De fick även ta ställning till våldtäktsmyter. Resultatet visade att äldre respondenter hade högre förtroende för rättssystemet än yngre, och att åklagare kände högre förtroende än polisanställda. Polisanställda ansåg att falska anmälningar var vanligare, jämfört med åklagare och sjukvårdspersonal. Detsamma gällde yngre respondenter och respondenter med högre acceptans av våldtäktsmyter.
|
|
| 6. |
- Adolfsson, Kerstin, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Professionals’ perception of meeting rape victims and handling cases of rape
- 2017
-
Ingår i: 59th Research Seminar, Nordiska samrådet för kriminologi (NSfK). Örenäs: 9-11 maj.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As the final part of a three-year project regarding attitudes toward victims of rape, a survey study was conducted with the aim to gain knowledge concerning difficulties and possibilities in handlings of rape victims and rape cases. An online survey was sent out to professionals working within the police, the healthcare system and prosecutors across Sweden, who meet victims of rape through their daily work. We wanted to get the professionals’ perspective and wondered if they could contribute with knowledge concerning why rapes are not being reported and why so few of the reports proceed to court. Over 230 professionals took the survey. They answered questions concerning perceived obstacles for their work performance, their trust in the justice system, knowledge and further education in victim behaviour and reactions, suggestions for improved treatment of rape victims, how their work would be affected by a possibly broader legislation, and police officers’ view on giving information about counsel for an injured party at an early stage of the investigation. Participants also had to consider statements regarding myths about rape. Data was analysed both separate as well as across professions and the results from this study will be presented at the conference. The title of the full project is Victim blaming in rape cases: Empirical studies of understudied situations. It is partly financed by the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority and conducted by researchers at the psychology department at the University of Gothenburg. The aim of the project was to enhance knowledge about blame attributions in rape cases and to use variables, situations and group of participants not previously included in experimental studies.
|
|
| 7. |
- Adolfsson, Kerstin, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Professionals’ perceptions of handling cases of rape
- 2017
-
Ingår i: The 13th meeting of the Nordic Network for research on Psychology and Law (NNPL). Katowice, Poland: 22-23 September.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A survey study was conducted with the aim to gain knowledge concerning difficulties and possibilities in handlings of rape victims and rape cases among Swedish professionals. An online survey was taken by 237 police employees, prosecutors and healthcare personnel, who meet victims of rape in their daily work. The survey included questions concerning obstacles for the respondents work performance, trust in the justice system, false reports and further education in victim behaviour and reactions. The respondents were also asked to provide suggestions for improved treatment of rape victims and cases of rape, and police officers’ view on giving information about counsel for an injured party at an early stage of the investigation. Respondents also had to consider statements regarding rape myths. Data was analysed both separate as well as across professions. Trust in the justice system was affected by respondent age and profession. Older respondents had higher trust in the justice system and prosecutors had significantly higher levels of trust in the justice system compared to police employees. Police employees believed there were significantly more false reports of rape compared to both prosecutors and health care personnel. This was also true for younger respondents (compared to older) and respondents with higher levels of rape myth acceptance (compared with lower levels). More results and discussion about implications will be presented at the conference.
|
|
| 8. |
- Adolfsson, Kerstin, 1988, et al.
(författare)
-
Victim blame in single versus multiple perpetrator rape cases
- 2016
-
Ingår i: The 26th meeting of the European Association of psychology and Law (EAPL), Toulouse, France, July 5-8, 2016.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Substantial research has been conducted in the field of victim blaming, but still we do not fully understand the complexity of how and why people tend to blame rape victims. Two important aspects that have been more or less neglected in previous research within the field of victim blame are multiple perpetrator rape cases and the level of force used by the perpetrator(s). Since the prevalence of acquaintance rape is higher than of stranger rape, we conducted two experiments using a setting in which rapes may occur but not typically included in previous research. According to Swedish legislation, a rape situation with more than one perpetrator is considered an aggravated crime, irrespective of the level of force used. However, we wanted to examine if the level of force used and/or number of perpetrators had any impact on levels of blame attributed to the victim. To investigate this we conducted an online multi-experimental study with a Swedish community sample. Participants read a scenario describing a rape and thereafter provided ratings of victim blame, Belief in a Just World and Rape Myth Acceptance, as well as their trust in the Swedish justice system and self-experience of sexual victimization. All scenarios described the same four people and the relation between them, colleagues, was held constant. In the first experiment (N = 1704), number of perpetrators (one or three) was manipulated. We used number of perpetrators and participant gender as independent variables and victim blame as the dependent variable. In the second experiment we held number of perpetrators (three) constant but manipulated the level of force used. Level of force and participant gender were the independent variables and victim blame the dependent variable. At the conference in Toulouse we will present the results from our ongoing statistical analyses, in the hope of bringing new, important knowledge of victim blaming attitudes.
|
|
| 9. |
- Ask, Karl, 1978, et al.
(författare)
-
Trovärdighet
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Handbok i rättspsykologi (andra upplagan). - Stockholm : Liber. - 9789147113064 ; , s. 374-390
-
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Ordet trovärdighet nämns ofta i samma andetag som tillförlitlighet, och därför är det lätt att få uppfattningen att orden är synonymer. Det finns dock viktiga skillnader mellan de båda begreppen, även om det råder oenighet kring exakt vari skillnaderna består. Ett av syftena med detta kapitel är därför att reda ut vad trovärdighet är och hur det skiljer sig från andra närbesläktade begrepp. Att trovärdighet kan vara avgörande i domstolsförhandlingar framgår tydligt av hur domstolar redogör för sin värdering av muntliga utsagor. Kapitlet ger därför inblick i hur trovärdighetsbegreppet används i svensk rättslig praxis och redogör för några faktorer som kan påverka om målsäganden, tilltalade och vittnen upplevs som trovärdiga eller ej.
|
|
| 10. |
- Ask, Karl, 1978, et al.
(författare)
-
Why emotions matter: Expectancy violation and affective response mediate the emotional victim effect
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Law and Human Behavior. - : American Psychological Association (APA). - 1573-661X .- 0147-7307. ; 34:5, s. 392-401
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mechanisms behind the ‘emotional victim effect’ (i.e., that the emotionality of a rape victim’s demeanor affects perceived credibility) are relatively unexplored. In this article, a previously neglected mechanism—observers’ affective response to the victim—is proposed as an alternative to the traditional expectancy-violation account. The emotional victim effect was replicated in an experiment with a sample of police trainees (N = 189), and cognitive load was found to increase the magnitude of the effect. Importantly, both compassionate affective response and expectancy violation actively mediated the emotional victim effect when the other mechanism was controlled for. These findings extend previous research on credibility judgments by introducing a ‘hot’ cognitive component in the judgment process. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
|
|
