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Evidence thus far has not lent credence to facilitate lie detection by the average person. According to studies, there are five major signs of lying: lip pursing, narrowed eyebrows, shoulder shrugs, looking to the left, and smirking. The present study aims to determine whether training people in detecting the five signs of lying will facilitate lie detection in the average person. We analyzed the accuracy of lie detection by examining the verdicts of 155 undergraduate students during simulated police interrogations. Comparisons between the trained and untrained subjects support the hypothesis that the average person is no better than chance at detecting lies through non-verbal cues.
ContributorsRivera, Aylin Melissa (Author) / Lanyon, Richard (Thesis director) / Aiken, Leona (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Previous studies exploring variability in sentencing decisions have consistently found gender differences, such that women receive lighter sentences than men. In the proposed study, I present a new framework for understanding gender differences in sentencing preferences, including circumstances under which no gender differences should emerge. The Affordance Management Approach suggests that our minds are attuned to both group- and individual-level threats and opportunities that others afford us. I conceptualize the sentencing difference between men and women as driven by perceived affordances that assist or hinder an individual in achieving certain fundamental goals. When faced with sanctioning an offender in our community, the offender's sex, the victim's age, and environmental variables such as the ratio of men to women may influence our decision-making, because these factors have affordance implications. Thus, I hypothesized that individuals will express differences in the sentencing of offenders who commit assault, and that these differences vary by offender sex, victim age, and sex-ratio. The results indicate that, as predicted, female offenders received lighter sentencing than men when the offender committed an assault against a same-sex adult, but received equally punitive sentences as men when the assault was committed against a child. In general, results do not support a consistent effect of sex ratio as a factor when making sentencing decisions. Although results do not fully support the current study's specific hypotheses, there remains much to be gained from applying an affordance management perspective to understanding variability in sentencing between the sexes.
ContributorsUzzanti, Charlene Ann (Author) / Neuberg, Steven (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Salerno, Jessica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Over the past few years, the issue of childhood trauma in the United States has become significant. A growing number of children are experiencing abuse, neglect, or some other form of maltreatment each year. Considering the stressful home lives of maltreated children, the one sure sanctuary is school. However, this idea requires teachers to be actively involved in identifying and caring for the children who need it most. Traumatic childhood experiences leave lasting scars on its victims, so it is helpful if teachers learn how to identify and support children who have lived through them. It is unfortunate that teachers will most likely encounter children throughout their career who have experienced horrendous things, but it is a reality. With this being said, teachers need to develop an understanding of what traumatized children live with, and learn how to address these issues with skilled sensitivity. Schools are not just a place where children learn how to read and write; they build the foundation for a successful life. This project was designed to provide teachers with a necessary resource for helping children who have suffered traumatic experiences. The methodology of this project began with interviews with organizations specializing in working with traumatized children such as Arizonans for Children, Free Arts for Abused Children, The Sojourner Center, and UMOM. The next step was a review of the current literature on the subject of childhood trauma. The findings have all been compiled into one, convenient document for teacher use and distribution. Upon completion of this document, an interactive video presentation will be made available through an online education website, so that distribution will be made simpler. Hopefully, teachers will share the information with people in their networks and create a chain reaction. The goal is to make it available to as many teachers as possible, so that more children will receive the support they need.
ContributorsHanrahan, Katelyn Ann (Author) / Dahlstrom, Margo (Thesis director) / Kelley, Michael (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Child abuse is a hard topic to talk about, and even harder to diagnose without proper training. Though there is a list of general characteristics that child abuse victim's exhibit, it could be difficult to diagnose because everyone reacts to maltreatment differently. Teachers are required by law to report any case where they believe a child is in an abusive environment. Unfortunately, teachers are given the tools to report the abuse, but they lack the knowledge of what to look for. The results are two fold; one is there is an overflow of false reporting, and two, the children who do not having obvious symptoms go unnoticed. This project aims to bridge the gap between these two extremes. It will lower the frequency of false reporting while increasing the chance that a child in need will be helped. The best way to achieve this is through education. The purpose of the study is to create an informational manual for teachers at the kindergarten and elementary level on how to identify child abuse and neglect victims. It will outline the behavioral and physical symptoms of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. It will also highlight the importance of realizing that not all maltreatment victims react the same to abuse. It will then follow into advice on how to approach the situation and what questions to ask. The primary form of research was primary observation by volunteering at the Mesa Child Crisis Center (with IRB approval). Interviews were conducted with Child Crisis Center workers, child behavioral psychologists, and Special Victims Unit detectives. The goal of this research is to help teachers better identify children that are at risk of abuse
eglect, and to understand the theory behind their behavior. In the end, teachers will be more informed on the topic so they can better help their students and create a safe environment for them, and be more confident in reporting.
eglect, and to understand the theory behind their behavior. In the end, teachers will be more informed on the topic so they can better help their students and create a safe environment for them, and be more confident in reporting.
ContributorsBaker, Karen Colette (Author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Broberg, Gregory (Committee member) / Kelley, Michael (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
Humans use emotions to communicate social cues to our peers on a daily basis. Are we able to identify context from facial expressions and match them to specific scenarios? This experiment found that people can effectively distinguish negative and positive emotions from each other from a short description. However, further research is needed to find out whether humans can learn to perceive emotions only from contextual explanations.
ContributorsCulbert, Bailie (Author) / Hartwell, Leland (Thesis director) / McAvoy, Mary (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
The portrayal of those with mental health disorders in film and television, particularly those with disorders that label them as psychopaths, have often been overlooked. It is all too common for mental health disorders to be romanticized, dramatized, or simply depicted incorrectly. The historical fiction films Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and My Friend Dahmer depict serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer respectively, and while depict historical events to a degree of accuracy, still take creative liberties. The proper definition of psychopathy must be analyzed more and the reason why films about psychopaths are popular with audiences must be as well.
ContributorsCompanik, Noah (Author) / Arce, Alma (Thesis director) / Gruber, Diane (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
Many people are familiar with the practice of parents, step-parents, or other caregivers continuing the abuse they experienced as a child unto children they are taking care of, but are unable to name this experience or explain how it continues. To those who are victims to this phenomenon, it is a struggle to comprehend what is occurring without a basic understanding. Through a comprehensive literature review compiling empirical and non-empirical resources, the phenomenon labeled as “intergenerational transmission of abuse” is defined and risk factors are explained for victims coming to terms with this experience.
ContributorsEnciso, Lourdes (Author) / Sturgess, Jessica (Thesis director) / Blais, Rebecca (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
Research into criminal fantasies has thus far primarily focused on homicidal. Here, we broaden the study of criminal ideation by examining a wide range of violent and non-violent criminal fantasies. Specifically, we aimed to compare the magnitude of sex difference in actual crimes to sex differences in crime fantasies. Using a questionnaire design, participants were asked about the frequency and recency of multiple categories of criminal fantasies, including violent and non-violent crimes. Reports of crime fantasies from this questionnaire were compared to national rates of arrest and incident for these actual crimes. Results indicated that men not only commit crimes more frequently than women do, they also fantasize about crimes more frequently. At the same time, such sex differences in crime fantasies were smaller than sex differences in actual crimes. Future studies should continue to explore the purpose of crime fantasies and their relation to behavioral regulation mechanisms.
ContributorsBaldwin, Lauren (Co-author, Co-author) / Kenrick, Douglas (Thesis director) / Barlev, Michael (Committee member) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05