Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Literature on celebrity effects with regard to involvement with celebrities is reviewed and a three-dimensional model of celebrity involvement is proposed, comprised of three distinct, correlated constructs: similarity identification, wishful identification, and parasocial interaction. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the hypothesized three-factor oblique model of celebrity involvement represented an acceptable fit of the structure of data and was superior to two alternative models. Post hoc analyses based on modification indices revealed a revised three-factor oblique model of celebrity involvement that was a good fit to the data. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Confession is a potent form of evidence at trial. Can confessions also corrupt other evidence during a criminal investigation? Two days after witnessing a staged theft and making an identification decision from a blank lineup, participants were “informed” about whether lineup members had confessed or denied guilt. Among those who had initially made a selection but were told that another lineup member had confessed, 61% went on to change their identifications. Among those in this condition who had not initially made an identification, 50% chose to do so. Feedback about confessions and denials also produced significant shifts in confidence ratings.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between forensics competitors’ organizational identification and social identity. Through a survey analysis of 330 intercollegiate forensics students, this study reports three major findings. First, competitors who have an understanding of the organizational identification that his or her program wants to convey internally and externally will also have a strong social identification with the program. Second, this study found that male competitors would socially identify with his or her forensics program more than female competitors will. Third, this study found ethnicity to be a significant contributing factor in the level of competitor social identification.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Based on testimony alone people are unable to discriminate between accurate and inaccurate eyewitnesses. The impact of presenting mock-jurors with a videotape of the identification procedure has remained relatively unexplored. The present study explores mock-jurors’ perceptions of, and decisions about, eyewitness identifications after viewing the eyewitness completing the identification procedure and/or the eyewitness’ testimony. Preliminary results (n = 185) suggest that mock-jurors who view the identification procedure are more likely to correctly categorize an eyewitness identification as accurate or inaccurate (64%) than mock-jurors who observe the testimony alone (48%).

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In order to investigate the development of organizational identification during a merger, a quasi-experimental case study was conducted on a pending merger of police organisations. The research was conducted among employees who would be directly involved in the merger and among indirectly involved employees. In contrast to earlier studies, organizational identification was measured as the expected identification prior to the merger. Five determinants were used to explain the employees’ expected identification: (a) identification with the pre-merger organisation, (b) expected utility of the merger, (c) sense of continuity, (d) communication climate before the merger, and (e) communication about the merger. The five determinants appeared to explain a considerable proportion of the variance of expected organizational identification. Results suggest that in order to obtain a strong identification with the soon to be merged organisation, managers should pay extra attention to present departments with weaker social bonds as these are expected to identify the least with the new organisation. The role of the communication variables differed between the two employee groups: communication about the merger only contributed to the organizational identification of directly involved employees; and communication climate only affected the identification of indirectly involved employees.