Ann Knowles

Domestic violence: attributions, recommended punishments and reporting behaviour related to provocation by the victim

This study examined the influence of victim provocation on attributions in a domestic violence scenario. It was hypothesised that provocation by a wife (victim) towards a husband (perpetrator) would lead to greater attributions of responsibility to the wife than to the husband and less sympathy for the wife. It was also hypothesised that respondents with more conservative attitudes towards women would attribute more responsibility towards the wife and less responsibility to the husband. Recommended punishments for the offender and whether the incident should be reported to the police were also investigated. The sample comprised 134 community members, 68 males and 66 females. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four scenarios that varied in the level of provocation by the victim from no provocation to most provocation (verbal aggression and jealousy). Results indicated general support for the hypotheses. There was no consensus on what was an appropriate punishment or on whether the incident should be reported to the police.

Adding Mindfulness to CBT Programs for Binge Eating: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation

The current study investigated the effectiveness of a combined mindfulness-CBT group therapy program for women with binge eating problems. Questionnaires were completed by group participants pre-program (n = 30), post-program (n = 30) and 3 month follow-up (n = 28). Significant reductions between pre- and post-program scores were found on standardised measures assessing binge eating, dieting, and body image dissatisfaction, with all reductions maintained at follow-up. Qualitative interviews with 16 women following completion of the program revealed the value of mindfulness in improving eating behaviour through increased self-awareness. This exploratory study supports the value of adding mindfulness to the more commonly utilised CBT-based programs for binge eating.

Community attitudes to domestic violence: attributions of responsibility, and suggested punishments related to alcohol consumption and level of violence

This research investigated whether attributions of responsibility, causality and blame towards the perpetrator and victim in a domestic violence scenario were influenced by the presence of alcohol or severity of the violence. Ninety‐six members of the community were presented with a vignette involving a domestic violence scenario, where the presence of alcohol, and level of violence, was varied. Personal attitudes towards violence and recommendations for punishments were also assessed. Results indicated that the presence of alcohol and severity of the incident did not affect responsibility attributions, possibly because the perpetrator was assigned almost full responsibility in all cases. However, recommendations for punishment were harsher for the conditions involving alcohol and when greater injuries were sustained by the victim. Participants who scored higher on an acceptance of interpersonal violence stale suggested more lenient punishments. Psychological interventions were frequently nominated as a necessary adjunct to conventional punishments. It can be concluded that this sample generally did not accept alcohol intoxication as an excuse for domestic violence and also believed offenders would benefit from psychological interventions.

Attributions about domestic violence: A study of community attitudes

Attributions of responsibility and causality, and other beliefs about behaviours and affective states of individuals in domestic violence situations, were investigated in interviews with 188 men and women (aged 18 to 65 years) in six suburban locations in Melbourne, Australia. Participants were selected using a stratified random sampling procedure designed to include persons from three different socio‐economic levels. Two vignettes depicting a mans physical and verbal abuse of his female partner were presented. In one scenario, the battered woman kills her abuser; the other scenario shows the abuser being taken away by police. The results indicated that attributions of responsibility were best predicted by beliefs about the impact of alcohol and the extent to which the actors could predict control and moderate violent behaviour. Most respondents believed the battered woman acted in self‐defence and should not be found guilty of murder for killing the perpetrator. The findings are discussed in relation to...

Children's comprehension of a television cartoon's emotional theme

Abstract This study investigated childrens comprehension of a complex emotion (jealousy) as depicted in a television cartoon. Eighty children aged 6–8 years watched the cartoon, and their comprehension of its theme was gauged using Selmans (1980) description of levels of understanding of jealousy. Relationships between level of jealousy comprehension, cognitive perspective taking level, and receptive vocabulary were investigated. Results demonstrated that while an adult sample clearly understood the cartoons emotional theme, the same theme was not easily comprehended by young children, with many children not understanding the reasons for the feeling of jealousy. Children with higher receptive vocabularies had better comprehension of the emotional theme than those with lower receptive vocabularies.

Psychologists' and psychiatrists' perceptions of the dangerous client

This study aimed to identify factors that influence psychologists and psychiatrists to perceive a client as dangerous, to establish the incidence of such clients and to identify actions taken in relation to their treatment The dangerous client was identified as one who posed a risk of physical harm to another. Two hundred and sixty‐two psychologists and 67 psychiatrists were surveyed. Respondents provided details about the most recent case in which they had treated a client whom they perceived to be dangerous. Overall, results indicated that dealing with the dangerous client was a common issue for respondents and that third parties were frequently notified when a client was perceived as likely to physically harm another. A profile of clients perceived to be dangerous was described. Criteria used by respondents to identify the dangerous client were compared with criteria identified in the literature. The significance of these results in the context of contemporary discussion of a “duty to protect third par...

Children's comprehension of expressive states depicted in a television cartoon

Abstract Three studies investigated 6–13 year old childrens comprehension of expressive states shown on television. A longitudinal component linked the first and third studies. Children identified eight emotional states depicted in a television cartoon, and their discriminations were related to age, verbal ability, and sex. The youngest children had a poor understanding of the expressive states, but understanding improved through to 9 years. Verbal ability was positively related to ability to identify expressions in 6–8 year olds. Girls of 8–13 years performed better than boys of the same age. The longitudinal results showed that in children of 6–10 years, accuracy in labelling expressive states was stable over a period of two years. While younger children could not accurately identify specific expressions, they rarely confused a positive emotion with a negative one. The poor comprehension of television often found in young children may be at least partly explained by their inability to identify discrete...

Confidentiality in Psychological Practice: A Decrepit Concept?

Although the principle of confidentiality in the relationship between psychologists and client has been vaunted, and is emphasised in the Australian Psychological Societys Code of Professional Conduct (the APS code; 1994), the confidentiality of this relationship is circumscribed by the absence of legal protections, the ethical beliefs of psychologists, institutional practices, and the provisions of the APS code itself. Lack of privilege in judicial proceedings, and statutory obligations to report certain types of behaviour, mandate breaches of confidentiality in some circumstances. Ethical beliefs of psychologists may support disclosure, especially where it is believed that there is danger of serious physical harm to the client or others. Multidisciplinary teams and institutional settings require the exchange of information for optimal delivery of services. Recent amendments to the APS code may require disclosure without the clients consent when a client is believed to be suicidal. Such developments, when considered at all, are typically regarded as exceptions to a general obligation of confidentiality. However, discussion of exceptions presupposes agreement on fundamental principle: the significance of, and rationale for, confidentiality in the psychologist-client relationship. It is argued in this paper that the obligation of confidentiality has been assumed rather than vigorously analysed and empirically explored. A critical examination of this obligation is the most appropriate starting point for the rehabilitation of contemporary principles of confidentiality in the psychologist-client relationship.

Young Women's Career Choices A Longitudinal and Cross Sectional Study

This study investigated the career choices of young women attending a single-sex church school using both longitudinal and cross-sectional data. Ninety-nine Year 12 students completed Hollands Self-directed Search (SDS) in 1985. In 1991, 40 of these respondents again completed the SDS and provided demographic and employment information. Also in 1991, the schools Year 12 students (n = 87) completed the SDS and provided demographic data. SDS scores for the longitudinal group (students retested in 1991) showed that their vocational preferences changed with Realistic, Artistic, Enterprising and Conventional scores increasing and Social scores remaining the same. Comparisons between the longitudinal groups 1985 and 1991 SDS scores and the type of course and employment they pursued lent support to developmental theories of career choice. Cross-sectional results indicated that there were very few differences in the vocational preferences of the 1985 and 1991 Year 12 students. Thus results also suggested that current efforts to encourage girls to have broader career aspirations have had little effect. Implications of these findings for career counselling were discussed.

Language issues in cross-cultural testing

Cross-cultural researchers typically assume that administering verbal tests across cultural groups speaking a common language allows comparability of test scores, but this assumption is rarely examined. In this study, two forms (sentence and adjective) of a self-report measure of wellbeing were administered to Australian and Indian samples. Results indicated that for the Australian sample, both forms showed significant item-total and interitem correlations. However, Indian participants did not respond to sentence items in the same way as they did to adjective items. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the linguistic equivalence of measures used in cross-cultural assessment. They indicate that shorter, less complex “linguistic stimuli” may be more appropriate in cross-cultural contexts, and support the argument that, even with samples speaking a common language, cultural equivalence cannot be assumed.