| 1. |
- Ahola, Angela S., 1974-
(author)
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Justice needs a blindfold : Effects of defendants’ gender and attractiveness on judicial evaluation
- 2010
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Gender and appearance affect our judgments regarding an individual’s personality, profession, and morality, and create a reference frame within which to act toward that person. The main question of the present thesis is whether these kinds of stereotypical conceptions have implications for the judicial process: how professionals within the judicial process evaluate and judge a defendant, and how and what eyewitnesses remember. Expressed in other words: Is justice blind or do gender and appearances affect the treatment we receive in a judicial process? The main purpose of the present thesis was to study the effects of gender and attractiveness on evaluations of defendants accused of crimes of varying seriousness and type. The second theme was to study under what circumstances these effects are particularly strong; emotionality, retention interval, as well as gender and profession of evaluators, were controlled for. Study 1 aimed at investigating “pure” gender and attractiveness effects, with psychology students as participants. Study II added the variable of emotionality, as well as six groups of evaluators. Emotionality was studied by including emotional photographs of crime victim injury as well as two levels of vividness in the written description the evaluator was to read. The evaluators were professionals working within the judicial process in Sweden–judges, jury members, counsels for the defence, prosecutors, and police officers–as well as law students. Study 1 showed that a male defendant was evaluated more negatively than a female. Study II showed two main tendencies: (i) “same-sex penalty effect”: Sentencing evaluators (judges, jurors) evaluated a defendant of their own gender more harshly than one of the opposite gender; (ii) “male penalty effect”: Nonsentencing evaluators (police officers, counsels for the defence, prosecutors, and law students) evaluated and judged a male defendant more harshly than a female. Study III focused on exploring effects of violence (emotionality) and retention interval in the context of gender differences to investigate under which circumstances gender differences might be especially strengthened. Violence was manipulated using two acts: one neutral (walking in a store) and one violent (robbing the same store). Retention interval was of two lengths: 10 minutes and 1-3 weeks. Results revealed a gender-stereotype-enhancement effect, in which the evaluator evaluated the male defendant more harshly with the longer retention interval as well as in the violent act condition. The results of the present studies may have practical implications for the functioning of the judicial process; on the eyewitness hearing level (Study III) as well as on the evidence evaluation-, guilt-, and punishment assessment levels (Studies I and II).
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| 2. |
- Ahola, Angela S., et al.
(author)
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Justice Needs a Blindfold : Effects of Gender and Attractiveness on Prison Sentences and Attributions of Personal Characteristics in a Judicial Process
- 2009
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In: Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1321-8719 .- 1934-1687. ; 16:1, s. 90-100
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examined the effect of gender and facial characteristics of criminal offenders on attributions of crime-relevant traits. The stimulus pictures portrayed women and men of varying attractiveness. Participants were presented with pictures of these female or male faces along with accompanying crime accounts. The crime account described the individual in the picture as a person who had committed one of the following crimes: theft, fraud, drug crime, child molestation, child abuse, or homicide. After reading one case account the participants were asked to evaluate the credibility and other crime-relevant personality traits of the offender. Results showed that female defendants were rated more favourably than were male defendants. Gender worked to the advantage of the female perpetrator. There were also slight tendencies towards more lenient appraisal of the more attractive women.
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| 3. |
- Ask, Karl, et al.
(author)
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Falska minnen och falska erkännanden
- 2008
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In: Handbok i rättspsykologi. - : Liber, Stockholm. - 9789147052875
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This chapter discusses cognitive and social aspects that may contribute to false memories in children and adults. The chapter also discusses different causes behind false confessions among suspects of crimes and that interrogation methods recommended in some police manuals can result in miscarriages of justice as a result of false confessions.
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| 4. |
- Azad, Azade, et al.
(author)
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Barn och ungdomar minns och berättar detaljerat efter att ha bevittnat dödligt våld
- 2012
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In: Svensk Juristtidning. - 0039-6591. ; 97, s. 746-759
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- De flesta barn som kommer i kontakt med rättsväsendet har utsatts för stressfyllda eller traumatiska händelser. Följaktligen är effekten av starka negativa känslor på minnet och berättandet, av både juridiska och kliniska skäl, av stor vikt att undersöka. I ett pågående forskningsprojekt har vi kartlagt de mönster som präglar barns minnen och berättande när de bevittnat dödligt våld, samt olika bakgrundsfaktorer som kan tänkas påverka barnens vittnesmål. Totalt har vi analyserat polisförhör med över 100 barn och ungdomar i åldrarna 3–17 år. Huvudresultaten visar att barn berättar detaljerat om dessa upplevelser i polisförhör, oavsett ålder och relation till gärningsmannen och/eller offret. Därtill visar resultaten att upprepade förhör leder till ett än mer detaljerat berättande. Det finns således skäl till att reflektera över etablerade uppfattningar angående i vilken utsträckning barn är lojala mot sina föräldrar och av den anledningen tiger om det våld de upplevt i hemmet. Barnets vittnesmål är av stor vikt för att få ett bättre underlag i en brottsutredning och för att försäkra barnets rätt till brottsskadeersättning samt för att domstolarna vid straffvärdesbedömningen ska kunna beakta att ett barn bevittnat brottet.
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| 5. |
- Christianson, Sven Å.
(author)
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A cat-and-mouse game : Media Manipulation
- 2016
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In: Shrunk. - Calgary : Durvile Publications. - 9780994735201 - 9780994735232 ; , s. 22-39
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Book chapter (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- SHRUNK is a collection of true cases by eminent Canadian and international forensic psychologists and psychiatrists facing the tough topic of mental illness in the criminal justice system.
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| 6. |
- Christianson, Sven Å., et al.
(author)
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Avancerad förhörs- och intervjumetodik
- 1998
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Book (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Hur ska man kunna få optimal information i en förhörs- eller intervjusituation om en händelse eller omständighet i samband med ett brott? Ett brott är en känsloladdad upplevelse oavsett om man är offer, gärningsman eller ögonvittne. Kommunikationen vid förhöret, samt förtrogenhet med förhörets dynamik, är här av mycket stor betydelse. Boken redogör för aktuell psykologisk kunskap och forskning , främst inom områdena kommunikationsprocesser och minnesfunktioner. I olika kapitel behandlas sedan förhörssituationer med brottsoffer, gärningsmän, vittnen, barn, traumatiserade personer, psykiskt störda personer, personer med minnesförlust etc. Här ges exempel på såväl god som dålig förhörsmetodik. En intervjumetodik som kommit att få stor uppmärksamhet och framgång inom polisen i bl a Storbritannien och USA är den kognitiva intervjun, som beskrivs närmare i boken. Den kognitiva intervjun är en procedur för intervjuer och förhör som bygger på psykologisk forskning angående minnets organisation och åtkomlighet. Boken riktar sig främst till studerande och yrkesverksamma inom rättsväsendet, exempelvis poliser, åklagare och andra jurister. Även personal inom socialtjänsten, kriminalvården samt psykiatrin kan finna boken användbar inför samtal med klienter.
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| 7. |
- Christianson, Sven Å., et al.
(author)
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Children as Witnesses to Homicidal Violence : What They Remember and Report
- 2013
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In: Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1321-8719 .- 1934-1687. ; 20:3, s. 366-383
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present study investigated how 96 children who have witnessed homicidal violence remember and report their experiences. The aims of the study were to describe the children's reporting pattern and to investigate background factors that could affect the children's reporting. Police interviews with the children were analysed regarding the amount and type of information reported, as well as frequency of denial, withholding and claims of memory loss. Results showed that the majority of children provided detailed reports about the homicidal violence they had witnessed, including critical details about the abuse. Results also revealed that the child's relationship to the perpetrator or the victim did not affect the children's reporting pattern, indicating that the children's willingness to report exceeds strong impact factors such as loyalty conflicts. These findings are applicable in different legal contexts dealing with child witnesses and can be used as guidance when interviewing children and evaluating their testimony.
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| 8. |
- Christianson, Sven Å, et al.
(author)
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Crime-related amnesia.
- 2006
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In: Witness testimony: Psychological, investigative, and evidential perspectives.. - : Oxford University Press. - 9780199278091 ; , s. 105-126
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is not uncommon that defendants claim amnesia for the crime of which they are accused, particularly in cases of homicide where 25-45% of offenders claim amnesia. This chapter presents arguments against and for the existence of such amnesias. Against the authenticity of amnesia, empirical data from interviews with homicide offenders indicate that they often have a strong motivation for feigning amnesia, and that their memory loss may possess typical features of malingered amnesia. Simulated or imagined amnesia may be at least as common as dissociative amnesia. However, unstructured clinical interviews are not a reliable way of differentiating between these types of amnesias. On the other hand, it can pointed out that many offenders claiming amnesia report their own offence, or fail to take measures to avoid capture. There are consistencies across their reports which are striking, and their descriptions do indeed bear some resemblances to other patients’ accounts of psychological forms of amnesia in clinical circumstances. Furthermore, victims sometimes report similar amnesias, and memory errors are common in eyewitnesses; nobody disputes the motives of these parties. Also, amnesia itself only rarely has legal implications, and may be damaging to the conduct of a person’s defence; it will certainly be challenged vigorously by the prosecution. Another point is that alcoholic blackouts are common in heavy drinking populations, and there is a high rate of offending and violent crime in such groups; it is not surprising that some individuals who have consumed large quantities of alcohol report amnesia for their offence. Finally, even the sceptic will not usually query the presence of amnesia in certain neurological conditions, such as epilepsy, hypoglycaemia, and somnambulism, although these can be at least as difficult to assess as the psychological forms of memory loss.
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| 9. |
- Christianson, Sven Å.
(author)
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Förhör och utredande intervjumetodik
- 2008
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In: Handbok i rättspsykologi. - : Liber, Stockholm. - 9789147052875
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This chapter gives an overview of a number of principles and central aspects in interviewing practices regarding victims and bystander witnesses: for example, planning and preparation, empathy, documentation, ground rules, context reinstatement and various techniques for guided retrieval, conclusion and evaluation.
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| 10. |
- Christianson, Sven Å., et al.
(author)
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Förhör och utredande intervjumetodik
- 2008
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In: Handbok i rättspsykologi. - Stockholm : Liber. ; , s. 257-274
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)
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