Robert J. Boeckmann

Three strikes and you are out, but why ? The psychology of public support for punishing rule breakers

This study examines why the public supports the punishment of rule breakers. It does so within the context of a recently enacted California initiative mandating life in prison for repeat felons (the three strikes law). Antecedents of three aspects of peoples reactions to rule breakers are explored : (1) support for the three strikes initiative, (2) support for punitiveness in dealing with rule breakers, and (3) willingness to abandon procedural protections when dealing with potential rule breakers. The results of interviews with members of the public suggest that the widely held view that public punitiveness develops primarily from concerns about crime and the courts and is primarily linked to public views about risk and dangerousness is incorrect. While these factors do influence public feelings, they are not the central reasons underlying public punitiveness. Instead, the source of peoples concerns lies primarily in their evaluations of social conditions, including the decline in morality and discipline within the family and increases in the diversity of society. These concerns are about issues of moral cohesion - with people feeling that the quality and extent of social bonds and social consensus has deteriorated in American society

Hate Speech: Asian American Students’ Justice Judgments and Psychological Responses

Two experiments using Asian American university student participants examined the distinctive characteristics of responses to racist hate speech relative to responses to other forms of offense. The studies varied the target of insulting speech (Asian, African, and Overweight person) or the nature of offence (petty theft vs. insulting speech). Participant variables included collective self-esteem and social identification. Results indicate that hate speech directed at ethnic targets deserves more severe punishment than other forms of offensive speech and petty theft. Hate speech also results in more extreme emotional responses and, in the case of an Asian target, has a depressing influence on collective self-esteem. Ethnic identification moderated punishment responses in study 1 only. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Adolescents in transition: The role of workplace alcohol and other drug policies as a prevention strategy

Aims: To assess (1) the alcohol and other drug (AOD) consumption patterns of adolescent new entrants to the Australian workforce and (2) the association between these consumption patterns and workplace factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 300 first-year apprentices (aged 15–22 years) employed in South Australian workplaces was conducted. Findings: More than 40% of apprentices surveyed reported cannabis and alcohol consumption patterns that placed them at risk of potential harm. In addition, 19% reported drinking alcohol and 6.7% reported using cannabis during work-related hours. Workplace alcohol availability and the existence of workplace AOD policies were significantly associated with apprentices’ consumption patterns. Apprentices employed in workplaces where alcohol was available used alcohol more often than those reporting no alcohol availability at work. Apprentices reporting an alcohol policy at their workplace reported less alcohol use compared to apprentices reporting no policy. Apprentices reporting a drug policy at their workplace reported lower levels of cannabis and alcohol use compared to those reporting no policy. Conclusions: Workplace factors, in particular workplace AOD policies, were significantly associated with adolescent AOD use both at and away from the workplace. These findings indicate that the workplace has potential as a setting for prevention strategies design to minimize AOD-related harms.

Jail sentence, community service, or compensation?

This study investigated the reactions of lay persons to a serious corporate offence (food-poisoning), focusing on executive officers and the organisations they represent. Two hundred and forty-one participants from Adelaide, South Australia, read a realistic scenario describing the offence and then responded to questions concerning carelessness, seriousness, responsibility, deservingness, harshness of penalty, anger, sympathy, jail sentence, community service, and compensation, as well as a measure of right-wing authoritarianism. Results showed that the predictors of the appropriateness of a penalty varied depending on penalty type, that reported anger failed to predict any type of penalty, that reported sympathy and female gender predicted community service, and that perceived responsibility mediated the relation between perceived carelessness and compensation judgments.

GENDER, DISCRIMINATION BELIEFS, GROUP-BASED GUILT, AND RESPONSES TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR AUSTRALIAN WOMEN

Views of a selection committees decision to promote a woman over a man on the basis of affirmative action were studied in a random sample of Australians (118 men and 111 women). The relations between perceptions of workplace gender discrimination, feelings of collective responsibility and guilt for discrimination, and judgments of entitlement to and, secondarily, deservingness of affirmative action were examined. AMOS analyses indicated that mens reports of collective guilt predicted attitudes toward womens entitlement. No coherent model was observed for women, which suggested ambivalent attitudes toward affirmative action. Gender differences in discrimination beliefs also suggested that women believe men are unfairly advantaged and that men believe women are responsible for their own disadvantage. Implications for research examining collective emotions and their role in social justice judgments are discussed.

The abstracts of the 8th annual meeting of the society of Australasian social psychologists: 25 April–28 April 2002: Stamford plaza hotel, North Terrace Adelaide, South Australia hosted by the university of Adelaide and Flinders university

The abstract of the following paper is published on page 122 of the following (see DOI below): Australian Journal of Psychology, Volume 54, Issue 2 August 2002 , pages 110 - 135

Military Mental Health First Aid: Development and Preliminary Efficacy of a Community Training for Improving Knowledge, Attitudes, and Helping Behaviors

INTRODUCTION Persistent stigma, lack of knowledge about mental health, and negative attitudes toward treatment are among the most significant barriers to military service members and veterans seeking behavioral health care. With the high rates of untreated behavioral health needs among service members and veterans, identifying effective programs for reducing barriers to care is a national priority. This study adapted Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), an evidence-based program for increasing mental health knowledge, decreasing stigma, and increasing laypeoples confidence in helping and frequency of referring people in need, for military and veteran populations and pilot tested the adapted training program with 4 Army National Guard armories. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 176 community first responders (CFRs) participated in a comparative outcomes study, with 69 receiving the training and 107 participating in the control group. CFRs were individuals in natural positions within the Armory or home communities of Guard members to identify and help service members in mental health crisis. Surveys assessing confidence in helping, attitudes toward help seeking, knowledge of resources, use of MHFA practices, and stigma were completed before the training, immediately post-training, at 4 months post-training, and at 8 months post-training. Analyses included repeated measures analysis of variances on data from CFRs who received the training and mixed between-within subjects analysis of variances comparing the intervention and control group longitudinally at three time points. Institutional review board approval for this study was received from Montana State University and the U.S. Army Medical Department, Medical Research and Materiel Command, Human Research Protection Office. RESULTS Significant and meaningful improvements in confidence (p < 0.05, η2 = 0.49), knowledge (p < 0.05, η2 = 0.39), behaviors (p < 0.05, η2 = 0.27), and stigma (p < 0.05, η2 = 0.16) were observed among trainees. When compared to a control group, statistically meaningful differences in change over time were observed for knowledge (η2 = 0.03), attitudes (η2 = 0.02), confidence (η2 = 0.06), and stigma (η2 = 0.02), with a significant and meaningful difference observed for practice behaviors (p < 0.05, η2 = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS Results from the comparative outcomes pilot study of military and veterans MHFA indicate that the intervention is acceptable and feasible to implement in National Guard Armories and among non-Guard community-based first responders. There was a significant intervention effect detected for the likelihood that a CFR would use appropriate engagement, support, and referral practices when identifying someone in need of mental health support. In addition, there were positive growth trends in the data for improvements in confidence, knowledge of mental health resources, attitudes toward help seeking, and stigma, which indicate that with a larger number of participants and armories we would expect to see significant intervention effects. Study weaknesses included insufficient power and demographic data for more robust analyses of intervention effects. A larger randomized controlled trial is recommended for better establishing efficacy; however, these results indicate that Military and Veterans MHFA is a promising intervention for reducing critical barriers to care.

That community becomes you? An examination of community differences in self-objectification and related variables.

ABSTRACT The authors surveyed women from 2 communities: Anchorage, Alaska (N = 51), an urban area, and Haines, Alaska (N = 41), an isolated rural community. Participants from Haines scored lower on measures of self-objectification, internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, participation in beauty enhancement behaviors, and perceived normative beauty enhancement behaviors. Women from Haines also engaged in more empowering exercise (i.e., yoga and outdoor exercise). Internalization of sociocultural attitudes toward appearance mediated the relation between perceived normative beauty enhancement behaviors and self-objectification for women living in both communities. The current study suggests that communities may present opportunities to engage in activities that influence ones predisposition to self-objectify. The nonexperimental nature of this study, however, prevents the definitive establishment of the direction of causality between variables.

Alice in Wonderland: directed by Tim Burton, with screenplay by Linda Woolverton, and novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865). Produced by Richard Zanuck, Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd, and Jennifer Todd. Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Pictures, 2010.

This film presents an excellent opportunity for critical viewing by families because it unflinchingly examines and critiques gender roles and explores identity development in late adolescence and young adulthood. Discussion of these themes is particularly relevant for young women, but also important for young men to appreciate. We encourage families to watch this film with their adolescent children and ask critical questions about the narrative of the film to encourage deeper reflection about its relevance to their lives. We explore some of our observations here, but are confident that your family will find additional layers of meaning to examine. The storyline of this incarnation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice” works stays true to the spirit of previous incarnations both on paper and in film, but has been updated to captivate people in the present zeitgeist. Most notably, from start to finish there is a strong feminist overtone, which made viewing the film through such a lens a truly natural, as well as enjoyable, experience. Throughout the film numerous expectations are placed upon Alice (Mia Wasikowska) that are reflective of stereotypical gender roles and scripts that certainly rang true in the 1800s when Carroll penned life to the character of Alice in his now classic books, and unfortunately, still ring true today as the creative media team digitizes life into her in the present. At the beginning of the film, Alice is expected to marry at a young age—an arranged marriage to Lord Ascot’s (Tim Pigott-Smith) son, Hamish (Leo Bill). Alice’s interactions with Hamish make it clear that she is most decidedly not attracted to her future husband on any level. Unfortunately, even in the 21st century, it is not uncommon for women to feel as though they must sacrifice attraction for a suitor and pleasure in order to fulfill the stereotypical gender-based obligations and marriage scripts that have been beset upon them since well before leaving the womb. It is also clear from their interactions that Hamish expects Alice to suppress her independence and become subservient to a traditional female role and to him as a husband. As this scene unfolds in the formal English garden, the viewer is introduced to another pivotal character in the “Alice” stories—the infamous