Biomedical subjects

S D Penrod

Publications and source records attributed to S D Penrod.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Methodological variables in Web-based research that may affect results: sample type, monetary incentives, and personal information.

There are many methodological differences between Web-based studies, differences that could substantially affect the results. The present study investigated whether sample type, offering payment through a lottery, and requiring participants to enter personal information would affect dropout rates and/or the substantive results in a study of jury decision making in capital cases. Asking participants to enter their e-mail addresses increased dropout rates, and offering payment through a lottery tended to do so as well. Participants offered payment tended to be less likely to give death sentences, and sample type moderated the influence of attitudes toward the death penalty on verdicts.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2000

Assessing pretrial publicity effects: integrating content analytic results.

When a case has received pretrial publicity which has the capacity to bias potential jurors in the trial venue, a change of venue is one means of attempting to ensure that the defendant receives a fair trial. Content analysis of the pretrial publicity surrounding a case can provide the court with important information to consider when determining whether prejudice in the relevant community is too great for the defendant to receive a fair trial. This paper presents an approach to content analysis of pretrial publicity that draws upon both legal commentary and past empirical social science research. It is a systematic approach that could be employed by both the prosecution and defense when presenting arguments to the court about whether a change of venue should be granted. Information gleaned from content analysis of the publicity surrounding a specific case fills the gap between information provided by experimental research which has examined pretrial publicity effects and public opinion polls concerning the public's perception of the defendant in a particular case. Results from a content analysis can serve to validate public opinion survey data gathered from the same locales. To exemplify this content analytic approach, a content analysis conducted by the authors in preparation for the change of venue hearing in the case of Timothy McVeigh is presented.

Bibliometrics↗

PubMed1997

Identification of computer-generated facial composites.

Two studies examined the effectiveness of the Mac-a-Mug Pro, a computerized facial composite production system. In the first study, college freshmen prepared from memory composites of other students and faculty from their former high schools. Other students who had attended the same high schools could not recognize the composites of either students or faculty members when the composites of individuals known to them (n = 10) were mixed with composites of a large number (n = 40) of strangers. Neither preparer familiarity with the target, preparer-assessed composite quality, nor viewer familiarity predicted composite recognition. Study 2 indicated that naive witnesses who viewed the composites could not select the people depicted in the composites from photo lineups (1 target and 4 foils). The results raise questions about the efficacy of composite systems as tools to promote recognition of suspects in criminal contexts.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1995

Expert psychological testimony on eyewitness reliability before and after Daubert: the state of the law and the science.

This article examines the legal and scientific issues inherent in the use of expert psychological testimony on the factors that affect eyewitness reliability. First, the history of the use of such expert testimony is traced. Next, we look at the criteria that state and federal courts have used in determining whether to admit such testimony, as well as the grounds upon which the testimony has been excluded. We then examine the Daubert decision and discuss its implications for the use of expert eyewitness testimony. We conclude by reviewing eyewitness research and research on jury decision-making that is likely to assume new importance in the post-Daubert era.

Criminal Law↗