Linda Zener Solomon

Anonymity and Helping

Summary Three field experiments, with 233 SSs in all, tested the effect of anonymity on helping. All three studies demonstrated that relatively identifiable Ss were significantly more likely to offer nonemergency help than were anonymous Ss. The third study also showed that only anonymous Ss were more likely to help a victim similar to themselves than one who was dissimilar. Anonymity, therefore, seemed to encourage norm violation.

The Effects of Bystander's Anonymity, Situational Ambiguity, and Victim's Status on Helping

Summary Milgram has suggested that urban dwellers are overloaded with sensory input. They adapt to this situation by ignoring low priority inputs. This would cause urban people to be anonymous, and possibly affect their willingness to help. In Study 1, it was argued that anonymous people are freed from social pressure to behave normatively, and hence, it was predicted that anonymity would discourage helping behavior. In a laboratory setting, groups of three strangers (one S and two confederates), supposedly taking part in an ESP study, witnessed an emergency. Groups in the anonymous-hood condition wore hoods and lab coats, while those in the identifiable condition wore ordinary clothes and introduced themselves to one another. A third set of groups (identifiable-hood) served as a control for the effects of the hoods per se. As predicted, helping was significantly slower and significantly less likely in the anonymous-hood condition than in the identifiable condition. In the second study, the overload notio...

The assessment of the phenomenology of sleep paralysis: the Unusual Sleep Experiences Questionnaire (USEQ).

Previous research has found a relationship between sleep paralysis (SP) and anxiety states and higher rates have been reported among certain ethnic groups. To advance the cross‐cultural study of SP, we developed a brief assessment instrument (which can be self‐administered), the Unusual Sleep Experiences Questionnaire (USEQ). In this article, we report on a pilot study with the USEQ in a sample of 208 college students. The instrument was easily understood by the participants, with one quarter reporting at least one lifetime episode of SP. As in previous studies, SP was associated with anxiety (in particular, panic attacks).

Values of Fathers For Themselves and Their Newborns.

The paternal role has been neglected in parenting research. The present study focused on the values of fathers of newborns. Values of fathers of newborns drawn from the inner-city lower-class were compared with values of fathers of newborns drawn from the middle class. Highest goals of fathers from both groups for themselves were economic (‘family security’); values for their children were morally focused (‘honest’). Inner-city fathers placed a higher value on a clean and obedient child, whereas middle-class fathers placed a higher value on a loving and imaginative child. When values of these fathers were compared with values of a similar sample of mothers of newborns, socioeconomic status remained an important predictor of values. Sex of parent was significant in the inner-city sample as these fathers placed a higher valuation on goals associated with autonomy than did inner-city mothers.

Detection of Cognitive Malingering or Suboptimal Effort in Defendants Undergoing Competency to Stand Trial Evaluations

The present study evaluated the usefulness of two popular tests of cognitive malingering in a real-life forensic setting. Only 25 of 166 defendants referred for competency to stand trial evaluations claimed to have memory problems. Compared with the rest of the defendants, these individuals had a significantly higher incidence of affective disorders and lower incidence of psychotic disorders. Almost half failed both the Rey 15-Item Test (RFT) and the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM), and 64% failed one or both. Seven of the eight suspected malingerers diagnosed with psychotic disorders failed both the RFT and TOMM. The incidence of psychotic disorders was significantly higher in those who failed the RFT than those who passed and somewhat higher in those who failed the TOMM than those who passed. The possibility that some defendants scored below the recommended cutoff scores because of intellectual limitations or concentration problems stemming from their psychotic illness is discussed.

Competency to stand trial evaluations in a multicultural population: Associations between psychiatric, demographic, and legal factors

Data were examined from an archival sample of Competency to Stand Trial (CST) reports of 200 consecutive New York City pre-trial defendants evaluated over a five-month period. Approximately a fourth of defendants in the present study were immigrants; many required the assistance of interpreters. The examiners conducting the CST evaluation diagnosed approximately half of the defendants with a primary diagnosis of a psychotic disorder and deemed over half not competent. Examiners reached the same conclusion about competency in 96% of cases, about the presence of a psychotic disorder in 91% of cases, and affective disorder in 85% of cases. No significant differences between psychologists and psychiatrists were found for rates of competency/incompetency opinions. Compared to those deemed competent, defendants deemed not competent had significantly higher rates of prior psychiatric hospitalization and diagnosis of psychotic illness at the time of the CST evaluation but lower rates of reported substance abuse.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF VALUES AND ATTITUDES OF INNER-CITY AND MIDDLE-CLASS POSTPARTUM WOMEN '

This study compared postpartum women from the inner city (n = 94) and postpartum women from the urban middle class (n = 80) on values and goals for themselves and their newborn children. Terminal values of inner-city women for themselves related more to social and religious goals in contrast to the more intrapersonal and personal goals of middle-class women. Instrumental values of inner-city women for their newborn children demonstrated concern with conformity and control, whereas for the middle class there was more concern with competence. Goals for the near future of the inner-city mothers were based on a desire for jobs and education.

Asian American Defendants: A Study of Psychiatric, Psychosocial and Legal Factors

There is little empirical research on the association between mental illness and violent behavior in the Asian American (AA) community. The present study gathered information, through a retrospective review of approximately 3,500 charts from a 25-year period, on 51 AA defendants referred for competency to proceed evaluations. A comparison group of 127 defendants of other ethnic backgrounds (non-AAs) was selected randomly. The present study found many demographic, psychiatric and legal differences between AA and non-AA defendants. The AA group included significantly more women and older defendants. Only one AA was born in the United States and was fluent in English. Eighty percent had immigrated within the previous 15 years. The AAs were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a severe psychiatric illness and charged with rape. The non-AAs were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a personality disorder and to be charged with robbery and criminal sale of a controlled substance. The low number of AAs identified from psychiatric-court records suggests that court personnel are overlooking serious mental illness in AA defendants with less obvious psychiatric symptoms. This is likely due to a language barrier and possibly to AAs reporting primarily somatic symptoms. The high number of older and female AA defendants may be due to a variety of factors. They might have received more attention from court personnel or experienced more stress secondary to incarceration.