The present research concerned the exploration of the psychometric properties of a psychologically based screening measure of competency for use in civil legal proceedings. Specifically, the measure was designed to assess a person’s competency before executing a will or other important legal document. In a series of investigations, expert feedback was utilized to formulate the final version of the measure, possible scoring criteria, and overall goodness of fit to the research question. Additionally, reliability and factor structure of the competency measure were explored. In a two-part study, expert feedback was sought using the Direct Consensus Method to determine final question inclusion for the measure, as well as to create a preliminary scoring system, which could be compared against a random sampling of participants obtained in the second part of the study. The experts (N=49) were members of one of two groups (N = 22 first feedback, N = 27 second feedback). Using the expert feedback the measure was presented to a randomized sample of individuals (N=109) who were given the measure and then scored based on the experts proposed methodology. Under the proposed method of scoring none of the randomized normals would have been misidentified as incompetent. Finally, exploratory factor analysis was conducted using both a 2 and 3 factor model. Results from this analysis were inconclusive. / Department of Educational Psychology

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M. A.)--Roger Williams University, 2008. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Oct. 29, 2008) Includes bibliographical references. 1 print copy is also available in university archives.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed March 22, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-62).

Thesis (M A (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 1, 2006). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references ( p. 113-116).

This thesis presents research designed to explore the role of physiological and psychological factors in mediating the effects of victimisation upon eyewitness memory. A tripartite model of arousal and memory is proposed encompassing physiological, psychological and motivational mechanisms. In order to investigate the potential role of these mechanisms, three laboratory based studies and one archival study are presented. The results of the laboratory studies suggest that physiological arousal may not influence eyewitness memory. In contrast, whilst direct support for an influence of psychological arousal is not provided, the possibility that psychological arousal may be an important factor cannot readily be dismissed. From a methodological perspective, contrary to existing laboratory-based research concerning visually-induced arousal, the results of the laboratory studies suggest that personal involvement may be an important factor influencing memory. Furthermore, the third laboratory study found that, differences in memory for emotional and neutral material may be a function of inherent differences between the material rather than an influence of arousal. Finally, in order to compare and contrast laboratory based research with the performance of real witnesses, a field based study utilising closed-circuit television to assess eyewitness accuracy for action details was conducted. In line with Studies One and Two, victims and bystanders were not found to differ in their memory performance. This study provides direct support for existing field and archival research suggesting that real victims and bystanders tend to be highly accurate in their eyewitness accounts. Taken together, the results of the research presented in this thesis suggest that whilst physiological arousal may not be an important factor influencing eyewitness memory, psychological and motivational influences may be important when witnesses are personally involved with the target incident.

This study investigated the antecedents and psychological processes inherent in firesetting within an adult intellectually disabled population. A qualitative methodology, grounded theory (GT) was employed to explore the experience of firesetting through verbal self-report. A sample of eight males with mild intellectual disabilities under the care of forensic learning disability services participated in interviews which ranged from 27 minutes 14 seconds to 1 hour 21 minutes 22 seconds. The data produced a preliminary GT which identified eight conceptual categories: Managing internal affect states, the experience of adversity, unsafe others, engagement in multiple offending behaviours, voice entitlement, experiences of fire, and mediators of risk and the function of firesetting. These conceptual categories were linked by an overarching core category of ‘powerlessness’ which was evident in several areas of the participants’ lives and experiences of firesetting. It was concluded that this sense of powerlessness along with the conceptual categories should be considered when risk assessing, delivering firesetting specific treatment and psychological interventions. The clinical implications are discussed and suggestions are made for replication of the current study with larger, more diverse samples and future directions for further research are proposed.

Several researchers have investigated the effects of alcohol on memory. Few researchers have studied the effects of alcohol on an eyewitness's recall and recognition of crime events. This study proposed to examine the effects of alcohol and viewing conditions on subjects' ability to recall information regarding a videotaped bank robbery. Thirty male and 22 female subjects participated in a 2 (consumption: alcohol v. no alcohol) x 2 (lighting: good v. poor) factorial experiment with Average Accuracy and Total Amount of Information recalled as the primary dependent measures. There was no significant difference between the Intoxicated and Sober subjects regarding the amount of information recalled or their average accuracy. The main effect for lighting conditions and gender differences were also not significant.