Video killed the radio star? The influence of presentation modality on detecting high-stakes, emotional lies

Purpose. In many contexts in which high-stakes lies occur (such as security settings or the courtroom), observers must evaluate whether the stories they hear are credible. However, little research has evaluated the ability of observers to detect high-stakes lies, nor the influence of the manner in which the deception is presented on judgment accuracy. This study investigated whether the presentation modality of high-stakes lies influences both explicit and implicit deception detection accuracy. Methods. Participants (N = 231) were randomly assigned to one of four presentation modalities: audiovisual, video-only, audio-only, or transcript-only and asked to evaluate the honesty of targets -half of whom were sincere and half deceptive killers -making a plea for the return of a missing relative both explicitly (direct lie/truth decision) and implicitly (via emotional reactions). Results. Overall, explicit deception detection accuracy was slightly above chance (M = 52.5%), and honest pleas were accurately identified at a higher rate than deceptive pleas. Although there were no differences in overall accuracy across modality, observers reading transcripts exhibited a truth bias, which resulted in them detecting truthful pleas at a higher rate than with the other groups. Although explicit accuracy was at the level of chance, implicit reactions indicated that observers were able to unconsciously discern liars from truth-tellers. Conclusions. Despite the high-stakes nature of the lies presented here, they were difficult to detect. Lies presented via written language were missed at a higher rate when assessed using explicit but not implicit judgments

Pedophilia as Age Sexual Orientation: Supporting Seto’s (2012) Conceptualization

Emerging research has examined the experiences of individuals who are sexually attracted to children and adolescents, also termed minor attraction. Minor-attracted person is a self-referential term, used to describe an individual who is sexually attracted to individuals under the age of consent, which varies by legal system. This study collected both quantitative and qualitative data from minor-attracted persons (n = 116). Several analyses were used to assess whether the sample characteristics support Seto’s (2012) conceptualization of pedophilia as a sexual orientation. The three developmental characteristics of gender-based sexual orientation were explored with respect to data. Expected patterns with relation to age of onset, expressions of both sexual and romantic attractions, and stability of such attraction over time were found. As noted by Seto, there are clear clinical, and potential legal, implications associated with the shift in the conceptualization of sexual attraction to children and adolescents. Such attempts to shift have been met with hostility thus far; despite this hostility, the findings indicate that age sexual orientation closely mirrors the developmental trajectory of gender sexual orientation, as outlined by Seto

Romantic and Sexual Relationships with Adult Partners Among Pedohebephilic Men

This study examined reasons for romantic and sexual relationships with adult partners among men with pedohebephilic preferences (N = 125). We also explored whether age sexual orientation impacted reasons for engaging in sex with adult partners. Pedohebephilic men endorsed both non-sexual and sexual reasons for engaging adult-partnered relationships. The top reasons for sexual relationships with adult partners were pleasure, love and commitment, physical desirability, experience seeking, and practicality. The top reasons for romantic relationships with adult partners were to gain companionship, love towards romantic partner, to escape loneliness, to engage in sexual activities, and it seemed natural. The exclusivity of attraction to children was found to be significantly related to some of the factors. These findings support differential reasons for pedophilic men engaging in adult-partnered relationships. Professionals should seek to understand the nature of their clients’ relationships and age sexual orientation to determine whether such factors are relevant. Professionals can then support clients in their search for meaningful relationships