William Douglas Woody

E-books or textbooks: Students prefer textbooks

Previous research has demonstrated that the experience of reading e-books is not equivalent to reading textbooks. This study examines factors influencing preference for e-books as well as reported use of e-book content. Although the present student cohort is the most technologically savvy to ever enter universities, students do not prefer e-books over textbooks regardless of their gender, computer use or comfort with computers. No significant correlations existed between the number of e-books previously used and overall preference of e-books: Participants who had previously used an e-book still preferred print texts for learning. Despite the ability to easily access supplemental content through e-books via hyperlinks and other features, students were more likely to use special features in print books than in e-books.

Juror decision making for juveniles tried as adults: the effects of defendant age, crime type, and crime outcome

This study examined the influences of the crime type (person or property) and the crime outcome (mild or severe) on mock jurors’ verdict and sentencing decisions for adult defendants and juvenile defendants tried as adults. Jurors read a trial summary depicting a defendant charged with aggravated robbery or second-degree burglary. The crimes had either mild or severe damage inflicted on the person or property, and the defendants age was presented as 14 or 24. Neither the defendant age nor the crime outcome affected jurors’ verdicts; however, jurors were more likely to convict a defendant charged with a crime against a person. Jurors recommended longer sentences for an adult defendant, a defendant charged with a crime against a person, and a defendant charged with a crime with a severe outcome. The discussion explored these outcomes and the role of bias in jurors’ perceptions of defendants.

General Pretrial Publicity in Sexual Assault Trials

An experiment was designed to explore effects of general pretrial publicity in sexual assault trials. Four pretrial publicity conditions (no publicity, neutral news media, prodefendant, and antidefendant) in the form of simulated newspaper articles were presented to 356 participants. Participants subsequently read a mock rape trial summary and reported verdicts. In the absence of pretrial publicity related to sexual assault, women were more likely than men to convict the defendant, but the presence of sexual assault pretrial publicity in any form eliminated sex differences in conviction rates.

The prevalence of false confessions in experimental laboratory simulations: A meta-analysis

We assessed experimental false confession studies using a meta-analysis to evaluate the prevalence of false confessions across methodologies and several moderator variables. False confessions were more likely in typing task studies than in collaborative or individual cheating studies. In typing studies, speed of typing did not affect false confession rates, but placement of the forbidden key in locations that rendered errors less plausible lowered the false confession rates. False-evidence ploys increased the likelihood of false confessions. We explore implications for courts, expert witnesses, scholars, and police interrogators.

Comparing the effects of explicit and implicit false-evidence ploys on Mock Jurors' verdicts, sentencing recommendations, and perceptions of police interrogation

In police interrogation, an explicit false claim to have evidence raises important legal and constitutional questions. Therefore, some interrogation manuals recommend implicit false-evidence ploys (FEP) that ask suspects about potential evidence without making a direct claim to possess the evidence. Similar to the hypotheses in a recent study of implicit FEP and confession rates, we hypothesized that individuals would perceive implicit FEP as less coercive and deceptive when compared to explicit FEP that involve direct claims of false evidence. Although mock jurors rated all FEP as highly deceptive and coercive and as more deceptive than controls, we found that participants did not view implicit and explicit FEP differently and that ploy specificity (implicit or explicit) failed to affect verdicts or recommended sentences. These findings suggest that although interrogation trainers and scholars in law and psychology discriminate between the methods, jurors do not.

Psychology and the Legal System: An Interview With Edie Greene

William Douglas Woody completed his doctoral work at Colorado State University and is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Northern Colorado. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of psychology and the law, social psychology, and history and systems of psychology. He is the recipient of regional and national teaching awards. While completing his doctoral work, Doug started collaborating with Edie Greene on projects related to civil jury decision making. Edie Greene earned her BA in psychology from Stanford University, her MA from the University of Colorado–Boulder, and her PhD in psychology and law from the University of Washington. Additionally, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington from 1983 to 1986, and she served as Fellow in Law and Psychology at Harvard Law School from 1994 to 1995. Edie is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where she conducts research on jury trials, eyewitness memory, and other topics in psychology and law. Her work has been funded by number of federal agencies, and she has earned extensive research recognition including an award from her college for Outstanding Research and Creative Works. Edie is a coauthor of the textbook Psychology and the Legal System (5th ed.), published by Wadsworth (2002), and she coauthored Determining Damages: The Psychology of Jury Awards, published by the American Psychological Association (2002). She has published more than 70 articles and book chapters as well as an annotated bibliography on the adversarial system (Strier & Greene, 1990). In addition to conducting research, she has served as a trial consultant, and she has testified extensively as an expert witness on eyewitness memory and jury decision making. Edie has been active in the American Psychology–Law Society in numerous roles including membership on the executive committee. She serves on the editorial boards of Law and Human Behavior and Psychology, Public Policy and Law.

Psychogeny: A neglected dimension in teaching the mind-brain problem

Although the relation of the mind to the brain is a common topic in the teaching of psychology, psychogeny—the study of the origin of mind—is a neglected problem. Two theories, referred to here as identity theory and emergentism, are outlined and explored in terms of claims, strengths, and weaknesses. Student reactions to psychogeny as a topical area are also presented.

Stereotypes influence beliefs about transfer and sentencing of juvenile offenders

ABSTRACT Despite sharp drops in juvenile crime since the mid-1980s, punitive policies regarding juveniles who commit serious offenses still exist. We assessed beliefs about two such practices: transferring offenders from the juvenile justice to the criminal justice system, and subjecting them to sentences of life without parole (LWOP). We examined whether stereotypes about juvenile offenders – the extent to which people believe they are dispositionally violent superpredators versus economically and socially impoverished wayward youth – influence support for these policies. We measured 321 participants’ beliefs about the causes of juvenile crime and juveniles’ potential for recidivism and rehabilitation. Using vignette methodology and actual case facts, we described a 13-, 17-, or 21-year-old offender who murdered a stranger or abusive parent, and asked whether he should be transferred to criminal court and sentenced to LWOP. As endorsement of the superpredator stereotype increased, so did support for these practices. Offenders who murdered an abusive parent were shown more leniency. Older offenders were generally treated harsher, except by people with strong superpredator stereotypes who, on the issue of LWOP appropriateness, did not distinguish among juveniles of different ages. Findings suggest that stereotypes can influence judgments in cases involving juveniles and indirectly affect policy-making about juvenile offending.

2010 Teaching Excellence Award Winners

The Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Division 2) celebrated the 31st year of its annual Teaching Awards Program at the August convention of the American Psychological Association in San Diego, California. Each 2010 winner received a plaque and a check for

Effects of false-evidence ploys and expert testimony on jurors, juries, and judges

1,000. The Society for the Teaching of Psychology recognized outstanding teaching in five categories: (a) Robert S. Daniel Teaching Excellence Award (4-year college or university), (b) Wayne Weiten Teaching Excellence Award (2-year college), (c) Mary Margaret Moffett Memorial Teaching Excellence Award (high school), (d) Wilbert J. McKeachie Teaching Excellence Award (graduate student), and (e) Jane S. Halonen Teaching Excellence Award (first 5 years of full-time teaching at any level).