The recognition of acted interpersonal stance in police interrogations and the influence of actor proficiency

This paper reports on judgement studies regarding the perception of interpersonal stances taken by humans playing the role of a suspect in a police interrogation setting. Our project aims at building believable embodied conversational characters to play the role of suspects in a serious game for learning interrogation strategies. The main question we ask is: do human judges agree on the way they perceive the various aspects of stance taking, such as friendliness and dominance? Four types of stances were acted by eight amateur actors. Short recordings were shown in an online survey to subjects who were asked to describe them using a selection of a number of adjectives. Results of this annotation task are reported in this paper. We explain how we computed the inter-rater agreement with Krippendorff’s alpha statistics using a set theoretical distance metric. Results show that for some of the stance types observers agreed more than for others. Some actors are better than others, but validity (recognizing the intended stance) and inter-rater agreement do not always go hand in hand. We further investigate the effect the expertise of actors has on the perception of the stance that is acted. We compare the fragments from amateur actors to fragments from professional actors taken from popular TV-shows

'She Chose to Get Rid of Him by Murder, Not by Leaving Him': Discursive Constructions of a Battered Woman Who Killed in R v Craig

This dissertation uses linguistic/discourse analysis to critically examine a Canadian murder trial in which a battered woman who killed her husband was unsuccessful in securing a self-defence findingR v Teresa Craig, (2011 ONCA 142). The defendants self-defence plea relied upon testimony on Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) and theory of coercive control in order to highlight the ways in which her actions (in killing her husband) were reasonable reactions to the abuse she and her son experienced. Feminist legal scholars argue that securing self-defence findings for battered women who kill is made difficult by the androcentric nature of the legal system, including the standards by which courts determine the legitimacy of self-defence claims, and the general lack of knowledge about intimate partner violence exhibited by many legal actors. This project attempts to locate these barriers to self-defence for these women in the language/discourse of R v Craig. Because the defendant was unsuccessful in securing an acquittal or a conditional sentence, particular attention is devoted to the various ways participants within the case (and the news media) used discursive means to construct the defendants identity as a woman undeserving of either a self-defence plea or leniency in sentencing. The data for this study comes from two separate sourcesinstitutionally produced transcripts from the case file and a corpus of newspaper reports of the trial. The study utilizes feminist critical discourse analysis, incorporating tools from discourse, conversation, and intertextual analysis. The findings indicate that discriminatory ideologies about battered women informed the way in which the defendant was represented in both the legal system and the media. The study considers the consequences of such representations for not only this trial, but also for how society comes to define battered women and those who kill. Although studies of battered women who kill occupy a significant position within feminist jurisprudence, analysis of these kinds of cases has as of yet been unexplored in linguistic scholarship. Through critical examination of the linguistic details of this case, my work provides empirical support for claims that battered women who kill may be unduly disadvantaged in the legal system

A Case Study of Forensic Interviewing of Antisocial Personality Disorder Diagnosed Inmates

Interview strategies applied in adult criminal justice settings focus on the interviewer and concentrate on obtaining information for the courts, while simultaneously neglecting a forensic understanding of interviewees, including the interviewee\u27s decision-making and behavioral health impairments. As a consequence, there is a deficiency of evidence-based research regarding interview practices with persons diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Using social control and neutralization theories as the foundation, the purpose of this case study of a single justice system in the United States was to better understand the perspectives and experiences of ASPD diagnosed inmates (n =5) compared to incarcerated participants without any mental health diagnosis (n =5) regarding willingness to cooperate with the interviewer. Interview data were triangulated with the Gudjonsson Confession Questionnaire â Revised. Data were inductively coded and then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Results indicate that external and internal pressures, intoxication, perception of proof, involvement of third parties, and/or a lack of insight into diagnostic features of ASPD influenced decisions to cooperate with an interviewer, thereby impacting the quality of interview results. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to criminal justice systems to explore holistic interview strategies that may improve interview outcomes. Adhering to this recommendation may improve the quality of interviews and ensure that justice system objectives related to truthfulness and accuracy are enhanced as well as improve mental health outcomes of criminal offenders

Talk up front:The influence of language matters on international military missions with a particular focus on the cooperation between soldiers and interpreters

Public Summary Talk Up Front The Influence of Language Matters on International Military Missions with a Particular Focus on the Cooperation between Soldiers and Interpreters Andrea van Dijk How do language issues affect military operations, and how in particular do soldiers and interpreters cooperate in mission areas to overcome such issues? This explorative study aims to enhance the understanding of the effects of the language barrier on international military cooperation. For that purpose, a predominantly sociological approach is adopted to investigate the dynamics at both the macro/meso-, and the micro-level of this specific form of interaction. The findings extensively demonstrate that language issues influence cooperation between international military personnel as well as collaboration with the local population. With regard to the latter, the linguistic and cultural skills of interpreters are crucial as they enable these agents to act as intermediaries between soldiers and local actors. Since modern military interventions typically encompass the deployment of servicemen among the population in conflict-harassed societies, effective cooperation between soldiers and interpreters is pivotal for the conduct of operations. Therefore, this research particularly focuses on this aspect of language matters in international military missions. Talk Up Front concludes that despite their vital role and position, smooth cooperation between soldiers and interpreters is not a matter of course. Efficient cooperative relationships typically do not emerge as a consequence of the military organization’s standard procedures, but have shown to strongly depend on individual traits. Particularly those soldiers and interpreters who can bridge the language gap and establish a constructive cooperation are instrumental to achieve mission success. These findings are based on, among others, 70 interviews with military personnel, national as well as local interpreters, and field work in Afghanistan. Ultimately, the study recommends that it is time for military organizations to acknowledge the presented insights and start learning for future operations

The Popular Policeman and Other Cases

In this compelling title, two distinguished scholars share their experiences as expert witnesses in cases ranging from eyewitness testimony, person identification and recovered memories, to false confessions, collaborative storytelling and causal attribution, in the context of various interrogation techniques and their ability to deliver reliable results. Each chapter describes in lucid, entertaining prose a representative case in the context of scholarly literature to date, showing how psychological expertise has been (and can be) used in a legal setting. The cases include petty and serious crime, from illegal gambling, infringed trademarks and risqué courtship behaviour, to honour killing and death on the climbing wall. The authors' findings and recommendations apply to legal systems worldwide. There is no other English-language textbook covering a similarly wide range of offences, and this volume will fill a gap in the existing literature and demonstrate how psychological expertise can be used in a much larger area than is often realised.Psychologisch onderzoek is voor de rechter niet altijd gemakkelijk toe te passen binnen de context van een strafrechtelijk of civiel geding. Inzichten in de werking van het geheugen, het gedrag, logisch denkvermogen en het nemen van beslissingen kunnen uitkomst bieden als er sprake is van valse voorwendselen, fraude, diefstal of zelfs moord, maar vaak is daar wel de toelichting van een deskundige voor nodig. Op onderhoudende en toegankelijke wijze beschrijven rechtspsychologen Willem Albert Wagenaar en Hans Crombag tot in detail vijftien representatieve zaken uit de Nederlandse rechtspraak, hun rol daarin als deskundige, en hoe het afliep. Naast de betrouwbaarheid van ooggetuigenverklaringen en bekentenissen is er aandacht voor de psychologische aspecten van minder gangbare onderwerpen zoals illegaal gokken, verwarrende consumentenvoorlichting en seksuele intimidatie. The Popular Policeman and Other Cases vult een belangrijke lacune in de bestaande literatuur over de psychologie in de rechtszaal. Niet eerder werd er buiten de Verenigde Staten in één boek zo uitgebreid en gedetailleerd aandacht besteed aan zoveel uiteenlopende zaken. Het boek is in eerste instantie geschreven voor het hoger onderwijs, maar ook buiten de collegezaal zal dit boek op de nodige belangstelling kunnen rekenen

Understanding and Operationalising Rapport Building in Police and Probation Interviews

Rapport building is effective for fostering a comfortable environment and facilitating communication between interacting parties in many professional interviewing contexts (e.g., therapy, counselling). Rapport is also recommended in forensic contexts, such as interviews between police officers and witnesses/suspects, or between probation officers and their service users. However, little research exists investigating how police and probation officers conceptualise rapport, how rapport can be operationalised for practice, or what impact rapport has on forensic interviews; research that does exist has several limitations. The current thesis aimed to address these current gaps in knowledge. Study 1 investigated the impact of clusters of verbal and non-verbal rapport behaviours (separately and combined) on mock witness memory, finding that non-verbal behaviours were highly effective towards establishing rapport and guiding memory recall, while verbal behaviours had negative or inconsequential effects. Study 2 investigated the views of UK police officers regarding rapport building when interviewing suspects, finding that officers generally regarded rapport as a positive relationship that enhanced communication and increased information gain, and they reported using several verbal and non-verbal rapport behaviours in practice – although, a minority of participants disagreed. Finally, study 3 investigated the views of probation officers regarding rapport building with service users. Again, rapport was regarded as having a positive impact on supervision and participant views were conceptualised into a general rapport-building process, but a myriad of organisational barriers hindered following this process effectively in practice. This research provides a unique insight into rapport, both by showing how forensic interviewers use rapport in practice and the challenges they face, but also by providing evidence of several rapport behaviours that can be used easily and effectively in forensic interviews. Thus, a novel contribution to the current rapport literature is made, and several key implications for Police/Probation services, as well as future research are highlighted

Fulfilling the interpreting mandate in business negotiation meetings. The perspectives of interpreters and clients.

This study investigates how interpreters perceive their role while working in business negotiation settings and also what role clients mandate to interpreters in those settings. Building on existing work on liaison interpreting, this study hypothesises that interpreters in business settings are active and visible parties of the interaction. As such, they exceed their prescribed role and become part of the client’s team. In order to test this hypothesis and scrutinize the role of interpreters in those settings, a mixed methods approach was followed. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from interpreters. Data concerning clients’ perceptions were collected by indepth semi-structured interviews. A combination of inductive and deductive approaches was used in order to code and analyse the data. The results showed discrepancy of role perceptions between the interpreters and the clients, and manifested how the setting mandates differing role statuses to interpreters. Furthermore, this study reconfirmed previous studies concurring that liaison interpreters are visible parties of the interactions. This study aims to fill a gap in the interpreting literature concerning interpreters’ role in business negotiation settings, improve professional practices and thus enhance the effectiveness of interpreter-mediated business meetings