From Crime to Punishment: Moral Violations and the Social Function of Emotion

Punishments that are issued by the criminal justice system can enhance factors related to recidivism or contribute to offender rehabilitation. Investigating the ecological element of public attitudes toward punishment can inform efforts of second-order change for reducing recidivism and improving offender and community wellbeing (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Kelly, 1966; Watzlawick, Weakland, & Fisch, 1974). The form and duration of punishments can be influenced by the goals that punishments are meant to achieve. Punishment goals include retribution, incapacitation, individual deterrence, general deterrence, rehabilitation, and restorative justice. Each of the goals can lead to sanctions that impact offender behavior differently yet substantive predictors of when the different goals are pursued have yet to be discovered. An important stakeholder in the operations of the criminal justice system is the general public, and public opinions regarding sentencing practices can impact the punishments that are issued (Roberts, Stalans, Indermaur, & Hough, 2003). This paper will whether the moral characteristics of crimes along with social functional accounts of emotion can predict public support for the goals of punishment. Social functionalist accounts of emotion suggest that different emotions are elicited by appraisals that are made of events in the environment. Emotions then lead to different action tendencies for responding to the appraisals. The action tendencies are goal oriented and may take the form of punishment goals. The appraisal of a crime by the public can include an assessment of its moral qualities. Moral Foundations Theory suggests there are five categories of moral concern: harm, fairness, ingroup, authority, and purity (Haidt & Graham, 2007). This paper examined whether public appraisals of the five types of moral violation predict three appraisals of the offender: whether the offender committed an immoral act, whether the offender was morally incompetent, and whether the offender possessed an immoral nature. These secondary appraisals were then used to predict five emotions that people may experience when being informed of a crime: anger, fear, contempt, sympathy, and disgust. Finally, the emotions, each with their own goal-oriented action tendency, were used to predict the goals of punishment desired by the public. Predicted relations between the appraisals, emotions, and punishment goals were combined to form a path model. To test the model, 546 participants completed an online survey and a path analysis of the model was conducted. A majority of the predicted relations were significant; however, the model did not fit the data. Additional analyses were then performed to develop a model that did fit the data. Violations of authority and purity moral principles indirectly predicted support for all the punishment goals. Furthermore, while the appraisal of an immoral act lead to anger and support for retribution, the appraisal of an immoral nature lead to many emotions and support for a variety of punishment goals. Finally, fear did not predict support for any punishment goal, and sympathy for the offender predicted support for rehabilitation and restorative justice. The findings have implications for theory, interventions, and policy. The study shows that public attitudes toward criminal punishment can be predicted by moral concerns and emotions. Interventions could be developed to reduce the appraisal of an immoral nature, which was a strong predictor for the punitive punishment goals. Finally, the study presents ideas for how policies can be changed to reduce the size of the prison population. Punishments are necessary for responding to crime, but different punishments produced by different goals can differentially impact recidivism rates. Determining how perceptions of crime can lead to public support for various punishment goals can help inform systems change efforts at improving sentencing practices

Distance learning postgraduate student stress while writing a dissertation or thesis

Working on a postgraduate degree can be a stressful experience for students, including distance learning postgraduate students who are at the stage of writing their dissertation or thesis. In this mixed methods study, 748 distance learning postgraduate students who were enrolled at a South African university and were engaged in the dissertation or thesis stage, completed an online questionnaire about potential stressors and experienced stress. Quantitative and qualitative data both indicated two general sources of stress: 1) uncertainty about the research/writing process along with insufficient support from supervisors, and 2) difficulties with time management. Issues pertaining to relationships, health, and finances were not as strongly related to overall stress. The findings suggest that universities with distance learning postgraduate programs could help their students by offering training or counselling services that are tailored to their needs, such as in how to balance academic work with family and employment responsibilities. Other implications include improving how supervisors assist distance learning postgraduate students, such as in maintaining regular contact with students, expediting the provision of feedback, and improving clarity in correspondence, to help ensure that distance learning students receive the guidance they require when writing their dissertation or thesis.NRFPsycholog

Ethnic and National Attachment in the Rainbow Nation: The Case of the Republic of South Africa

Previous work concerning the interface between racial and national identification within multiracial states has suggested that dominant racial groups tend to express a firmer grip on ownership of and identification with the nation than is the case for racial minorities. This can occur despite inclusionary political rhetoric to the contrary and within nations regarded as civic rather than ethnic states. In this article, we explored the degree to which there were asymmetries in the interface between racial and national identities within the nation of South Africa, a state whose current political dispensation was founded on the principles of racial pluralism. We examined a large sample of South African citizens from the four officially recognized racial categories: Africans, Whites, Coloreds, and Indian/Asians. The results showed mixed support for the idea of South Africa as a “Rainbow Nation.”Psycholog

Procedural Justice in Resolving Family Disputes: Implications for Childhood Bullying

High levels of family conflict and poor family conflict resolution strategies are often associated with externalizing behaviors in children, including the behavior of bullying. Through family interactions, parents have the opportunity to convey a variety of messages to the child. Some of these messages are sent through the child’s appraisal of procedural justice, which refers to the judgments of fairness directed at the process by which a conflict is resolved. The current study investigated the relationship between appraisals of procedural justice in family conflict resolution and bullying among middle-school students. A sample of 1,910 sixth through eighth graders completed a self-report survey on school violence. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant relationship in which higher appraisals of procedural justice during family conflict resolution were associated with lower frequencies of bullying by the child. Furthermore, this relationship was partially mediated by the internalization of the parent’s conduct during the conflict resolution process. The current study extended the research literature addressing the relevance of procedural justice in child development. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed

Expected consequences of disclosure revealed in investigative interviews with suspected victims of child sexual abuse

The current study explored the expected consequences of disclosure discussed by 204 5- to 13-year-old suspected victims of child sexual abuse during the course of investigative interviews conducted using the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol. Expected consequences were mentioned in nearly half of all interviews, with older children and those alleging multiple incidents more likely to do so. Most consequences were mentioned spontaneously by children and most consequences were expected to befall the children themselves. The most common consequences were physical harm and feeling negative emotions for the child and jail/legal consequences for the suspect. Expecting consequences for the child or another family member were associated with delaying disclosure, but expecting consequences for the suspect was not related to delay. Results provide insight into developmental and socio-motivational influences on children\u27s disclosure of negative events and are of considerable practical interest to legal and clinical professionals who must interview, treat, and evaluate children alleging sexual abuse

International perspective on guidelines and policies for child custody and child maltreatment risk evaluations : A preliminary comparative analysis across selected countries in Europe and North America

Little knowledge exists on how evaluators in child custody and child maltreatment cases are informed by guidelines, the kinds of qualifications required and the types of training provided in different countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide an international preliminary comparison on how child custody and child maltreatment risk assessments are conducted in selected Western countries, and how the assessments are informed by best practice guidelines. Another aim is to increase knowledge on how the guidelines and best-practice standards could be developed further to reflect recent research findings. A total number of 18 guidelines were included in the analyses: four from Canada, five from the United States, three from the United Kingdom, three from the Netherlands, two from Finland, and one from Germany. We conducted a content analysis of the included guidelines in the database, focusing on how the guidelines address the best interest of the child criteria, guidelines for conducting the assessments, considerations for evaluative criteria, and specific guidance for conducting specific assessment procedures (e.g., interviews and observations). Findings show that the qualifications of and training provided to evaluators in child custody and child maltreatment risk evaluations are largely heterogeneous across the countries represented. Guidelines differ in whether and how they highlight the importance of evidence-based practices and scientifically validated assessment measures. Implications are drawn from the review and contextualized by international expert authors in the fields of forensic psychology, and family law. After the content analysis, discussion sessions within the expert group were held. The authors provide both commentaries and suggestions to improve the development of standard methods for conducting both child custody and child maltreatment risk evaluations and to consider a more transparent and judicious use of social science research to guide methods and the recommendations offered within these assessments.Peer reviewe

The NICHD protocol:a review of an internationally-used evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers

PurposeThis article reviews an evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers called the NICHD Protocol, with a specific focus on how the Protocol is being adapted in various countries.Design/methodology/approachWe include international contributions from experienced trainers, practitioners, and scientists, who are already using the Protocol or whose national or regional procedures have been directly influenced by the NICHD Protocol research (Canada, Finland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, and United States). Throughout the review, these experts comment on: How and when the Protocol was adopted in their country; who uses it; training procedures; challenges to implementation and translation; and other pertinent aspects. We aim to further promote good interviewing practice by sharing the experiences of these international experts.FindingsThe NICHD Protocol can be easily incorporated into existing training programs worldwide and is available for free. It was originally developed in English and Hebrew and is available in several other languages.Originality/valueThis article reviews an evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers called the NICHD Protocol. It has been extensively studied and reviewed over the past 20 years. This article is unique in the it is the first to bring together practitioners who are actually responsible for training forensic interviewers and conducting forensic interviews from all around the world

Procedural Justice in Resolving Family Disputes: Implications for Childhood Bullying

High levels of family conflict and poor family conflict resolution strategies are often associated with externalizing behaviors in children, including the behavior of bullying. Through family interactions, parents have the opportunity to convey a variety of messages to the child. Some of these messages are sent through the child’s appraisal of procedural justice, which refers to the judgments of fairness directed at the process by which a conflict is resolved. The current study investigated the relationship between appraisals of procedural justice in family conflict resolution and bullying among middle-school students. A sample of 1,910 sixth through eighth graders completed a self-report survey on school violence. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant relationship in which higher appraisals of procedural justice during family conflict resolution were associated with lower frequencies of bullying by the child. Furthermore, this relationship was partially mediated by the internalization of the parent’s conduct during the conflict resolution process. The current study extended the research literature addressing the relevance of procedural justice in child development. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed

First-Generation Students in Distance Education Program: Family Resources and Academic Outcomes

Distance education students have less access to classmates as a social resource and may, therefore, rely more on family members for support. However, first-generation students, or students who are the first in their family to attend university, may lack the academic resources that family members can provide. Overall, first-generation students in distance education programs may be at particular risk of lacking the necessary social capital to thrive in university. This study investigated whether two family resource variables—providing guidance about university and expressing supportive attitudes toward university—varied across generation status among distance education students. The study also investigated whether these family resource variables predicted students’ academic adjustment and academic persistence. A sample of 224 undergraduate, distance education students in South Africa completed an online survey. First-generation students (n = 60) reported receiving less university guidance from family members compared to continuing-generation students. In addition, receiving university guidance predicted students’ academic adjustment. The results suggest that university guidance from family members may serve as a protective factor against potential challenges that can impact students’ academic adjustment, a protective factor that first-generation students are less likely to have