A Rule of Thumb for Deception Detection: Focus Only on the Details

People, including the police, are poor at detecting lies. The level of detail in a statement speaks to its credibility – truthful statements contain more details than false statements. Focusing solely on the level of detail in a statement, rather than considering multiple indicators, may improve lie detection abilit

Stuck on a Plateau: Obstacles to Recruitment, Selection, and Retention of Women Police

In the U.S., employment of women police increased significantly from the 1970s to the late 1990s but then hit a plateau around 11-12% of all sworn police. As of 2020, the figure was 14%, which still lags well behind comparable countries. Based on surveys, women police in a three-county region in the U.S. cited the male-dominated police culture, failure to proactively recruit women, and lack of family-friendly policies among the main reasons for the low representation of women. Male police chiefs in the same region were much less likely than women police to see their agencies as unfriendly toward women and less likely to view the police academy as male-dominated and not very woman friendly

Women Police Who are Betrayed by the Badge: How Sexual Harassment Erodes Trust in the Agency and Contributes to Psychological Distress

Based on a survey response of 491 women police employed in a large, state-based Australian police agency, this study found that women police who experienced sexual harassment also reported higher levels of psychological distress. The relationship between sexual harassment and psychological distress can be largely explained by the perceived failure of the agency to uphold the expected obligation that it would protect its members (psychological contract breach) and the emotional impact that results (embitterment). Police agencies and their leaders must act to better support woman police who experience sexual harassment. Women police need to think, feel, and experience their police agencies as workplaces that are committed to fairness, respect, and justice. This is essential in protecting their psychological health

Do Women Police Officers Use Less Force? Findings from a National Study

Researchers analyzed survey data from 7,365 police-citizen encounters in six police agencies in the United States to evaluate the effects of officer’s gender on the level of force. Results show that female officers used less force than male officers, and that women partnered with other women used less physical force than men partnered with other men. The findings remained consistent after accounting for the level of noncompliance demonstrated by the citizen and other characteristics of the encounter. Findings also suggested that less aggressive actions by officers to noncompliant citizens were not related to increased risk for injury. However, antagonistic responses were

A 3.5 x 9-Inch Door Hanger Placed on Houses Reduced Certain Property Crimes

This pilot study randomly assigned six neighbourhoods within a municipal police region to either an intervention or control condition. Following a burglary in an intervention neighbourhood, the community response team distributed door hangers with crime prevention tips, an overview of research on repeat victimization risk, and related information to the affected home and surrounding homes within a football field’s distance of the affected house. While there were non-significant decreases in the targeted crime type (burglaries), total Part 1 property crimes and thefts significantly decreased in “intervention” neighbourhoods relative to “control” neighbourhoods. This “super-cocooning” strategy informed the community about crime activity in the area and may have empowered affected residents to protect their property, lock-down valuables, and provide guardianship to the neighbourhood. Leveraging community-oriented specialized units instead of patrol officers to distribute information to the community may reduce patrol officer workload, support agencies in combatting property crime, and affect criminal opportunity structures

Exploring Experiences of Autistic Parents: A Qualitative Perspective

Autistic adults face unique challenges in diagnosis and parenting compared to non-autistic individuals, which are often intensified by stigma and discrimination rooted in unfounded assumptions of their parenting abilities (Pohl et al., 2020). In addition, the diagnostic process in adulthood can be emotionally and systemically challenging leading to increased stress and uncertainty (de Broize et al., 2022), while the disclosure process following diagnosis can complicate relationships and reinforce harmful misconceptions of parenting abilities (Radev et al., 2023). Biases can limit the creation of autism-specific parenting supports, increase discrimination from professionals and negatively impact parent-child relationships, highlighting the need to better understand and support autistic parents. Nine autistic parents, recruited from Canadian autism service agencies and online autistic-led communities, completed surveys and participated in a one-on-one semi-structured interview. Parents discussed their experiences with the autism diagnosis process, their perceptions of how the diagnosis impacted their parenting and their diagnosis disclosure experiences with loved ones, acquaintances and professionals. Findings revealed many parents identified as autistic through their child’s diagnostic process leading to validation, grief and increased self-understanding, in turn leading to reduced masking and better advocacy skills. Disclosure decisions were often shaped by fear of stigma and desires to protect their children, and was common with spouses, friends and children but mixed with their parents and workplaces. Positive reactions to disclosure led to relief and negativity led to distress. The findings highlighted a need for autism-specific parenting services to reduce stigma and improve outcomes for autistic parents and families

Examining the Outgroup Empathy Gap: When Does Perceived Similarity Matter?

Empathy is a social tool highlighted for its role in promoting compassion and understanding for others, including members of the community beyond our close personal relationships. Empathy can increase prosocial behaviour and reduce prejudice, yet there is an observable empathy gap in cross-group contexts. Bridging this gap is critical, especially at a time when group identity is a contributing factor to extreme social polarization. Studies have attempted to increase outgroup empathy, some finding that similarity plays a key role in facilitating it. However, these studies manipulated similarity unidimensionally, either at the level of personal identity or within the broader intergroup context. The current study extends past work by manipulating similarity across multiple levels of identity, examining both the interpersonal and intergroup identities to understand the nuanced relationship between similarity and outgroup empathy. A sample of university students completed an online study that manipulated perceptions of similarity and dissimilarity with an imagined outgroup member across both the intergroup and interpersonal contexts, followed by a measure of outgroup empathy. Results found that outgroup empathy did not significantly differ between different combinations of similarity and dissimilarity at the intergroup and interpersonal levels, raising the question of, \u27when does perceived similarity matter\u27? Further research could shed light on the results of this study by investigating the contexts in which manipulations of similarity are capable of impacting outgroup empathy

An Analysis of Demand Characteristics: Uncovering the True Effects of Social Media on Mental Health

As social media use continues to rise, concerns about its effects on mental health remain debated. While some research links social media to adverse mental health outcomes, others highlight its benefits, such as social connectedness. Inconsistencies in research raise concerns that pre-existing beliefs may influence self-reported mental health outcomes in experimental settings, particularly when the negatives of social media are highlighted. This study examines whether individuals who strongly believe that social media is harmful will report poorer well-being, particularly when social media is framed in a negative light. A sample of 556 participants were initially screened through an online survey. Of these, 19 participants were selected and assigned to conditions emphasizing either the harms or benefits of social media, after which they completed mental health questionnaires in a laboratory setting. We hypothesized that negatively framed social media information would result in lower mental health scores, especially amongst those with negative pre-existing beliefs about social media. We aim to clarify whether the observed effects stem from actual social media use or biases introduced by experimental framing and participant expectations. We did notfind significant differences in mental health scores based on the social media framing conditions to which participants were assigned

Hormonal Contraceptive Use and Acute Stress Reactivity: Examining Autonomic Responses and Affective States in Young Women

Emerging adulthood is marked by significant stressful events and life transitions that may increase vulnerability to distress. Young women in particular report higher stress levels compared to men, and sex hormones could be involved. Hormone level fluctuations at this critical age, may be especially sensitive to hormonal contraceptive (HC) manipulation, leading to altered stress reactivity. Thus, the current study examined stress, affective states and autonomic stress responses among naturally-cycling women, combined estrogen-progestin users and progestin-only users following an acute stressor. Young women (N=126) completed baseline questionnaires assessing mood and stress scores. Participants were randomly assigned to a stressor task (n=57) or a control task (n=69), after which mood dimensions were assessed. Heart rate was monitored via smartwatch at six timepoints across the study. Interestingly, interactions between time, HC type, and task condition for heart rate were trending towards significance (p=0.06), with HC users showing elevated heart rate during the stressor compared to naturally-cycling women over time. Progestin-only users in the stressor group displayed increased feelings of sadness (p=0.03), anger (p<0.001), and fear (p=0.008), compared to controls (an effect not found for combined users or naturally-cycling women), whereas feelings of shame (p<0.001) were elevated among all women in the stressor group compared to the control group. Together, HC use and type of contraceptive may be associated with exaggerated physiological stress reactivity and negative mood states. These findings provide insights into the effects of HCs on stress processes, supporting more evidence-based decision making in young women considering HCs

Stuck in a Loop: Rumination as a Mediator in the Relationship Between High School Bullying Victimization and Depression

Victims of bullying are more likely to engage in persistent negative thoughts about their experiences, which can include intrusive and deliberate rumination. Rumination is problematic since it can exacerbate adverse mental health outcomes over time, including depression. The current study investigated whether either of these types of rumination would mediate the association between high school victimization and depression in early adulthood. Intrusive and deliberate rumination were separately analyzed to contribute to limited research analyzing intrusive thoughts in rumination, and mixed findings implicating deliberate rumination with improved mental health outcomes. Undergraduate students from a large Canadian university (N = 485, Mage = 19.08) completed an online questionnaire assessing high school bullying victimization, event-related rumination, and depression. The results revealed that both intrusive and deliberate rumination partially mediated the relationship between high school bullying victimization and depression. These findings suggest that rumination, whether intrusive or deliberate, is a risk factor for mental health problems following victimization, which can persist in the long term. Therefore, interventions aimed at enhancing mindfulness and reducing rumination should be provided to victims of bullying to mitigate the risk of negative psychological outcomes