Publication Type: Symposium Paper
Abstract: Previous research indicates that promising to tell the truth significantly reduces lie-telling by children between the ages of 3 and 7 years (Talwar, Lee, Bala, & Lindsay, 2002). However, the influence of promising has not been assessed with older children and adolescents. The present study examined whether promising to tell the truth increases 9- to 16- year-olds truth-telling behavior about a transgression. Results are consistent with previous findings with younger children indicating that promising to tell the truth increases truth telling behaviour in older children and adolescents. Results will be discussed in terms of implications for legal systems.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The paper offers a theoretical understanding of Israeli Settlement activity in the Occupied Territories in light of the centrality of the issue in the current conflict as well as any effort to achieve peace. By using a path dependent lens, the paper analyzes how the settlement project was launched, nurtured, and promoted by various Israeli governments since the late 1960's. The paper explores the expansion of the settlements despite the international and domestic costs incurred by various Israeli governments. The paper is based in part on original research, and concludes that three path dependent processes lay at the heart of the exponential increase in the number of settlements - from a handful in 1968 to over 220,000 in 2002. In all three processes, the analysis points to institutional and cultural factors (that assumed new modes over time) as a significant cause in settlement expansion. While the paper accepts the traditional ideological and strategic explanations for settlement activity, it offers a more intricate view by exploring path dependent and institutional mechanisms for the increase in the number of settlements. Dismantling Israeli settlements is going to be a key issue in any future peace negotiations, and might serve as a model in other conflicts. It I therefore important that we develop a clear conceptual understanding of how they came to be in the first place. In the last part, the paper highlights the theoretical implications of the settlements' case for path dependency. More specifically, the paper explores the various roles that path dependency plays in inhibiting opposition to certain policies.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In managing information about his or her criminal past, a formerly incarcerated person must decide, “to display or not to display; to tell or not to tell; to let on or not to let on; to lie or not to lie; and in each case, to whom, how, when, and where” (Goffman, 1963, p. 42). This paper discusses the development of a “concealment” scale to measure the extent to which formerly incarcerated persons think that keeping their status as an “ex-convict” a secret is a good idea and tend to selectively disclose this information to others outside of their family. A sample of approximately 225 formerly incarcerated persons engaged in some form of reintegration-related programming in New York State were asked to complete a questionnaire. The relationship between the concealment scale and measures for perceptions of stigma, demographics, criminal history, social bonds, and program-related items will be examined using correlation analysis and OLS regression analysis. The relationship between scores on the concealment scale and psychological and behavioral outcomes (e.g. self-esteem, satisfaction in life, criminal attitude/identity, and recidivism) will also be explored. Implications of the findings for prisoner reintegration policy and practice will be discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Obtaining true confessions from criminal suspects is a necessary and important goal for law enforcement as is minimizing the number of false confessions given by innocent persons. The first step toward meeting these goals is to understand what is currently taking place inside the police interrogation room. Relatively little field research has been conducted into actual police interrogation practices. Leo (1996) conducted the only field study to date investigating the type and frequency of interrogation techniques used by police interrogators. He found that, on average, police used 5-6 techniques per interrogation, and the certain techniques were used more frequently than others (e.g., appealing to self-interest, confronting the suspect with true or false evidence of guilt). The purpose of the current study was to survey police officers about their interrogation practices and to expand our knowledge base about the interrogation process as experienced and perceived by police officers. The current presentation (a section of the larger study) will focus on police officers’ beliefs about lie detection, the frequency of false confessions, and their own experience (or lack thereof) with false confessions. This data will be presented via content analysis, and implications of the findings will be discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Research suggests that coming out as gay or lesbian at work carries certain benefits, such as increased job satisfaction and stronger workplace social relationships, as workers are able to express their “true” selves with co-workers. This paper considers the question of workplace disclosure focusing on the experience of transsexual and transgender individuals who choose not to disclose that they were born female-bodied to co-workers. Based on in-depth interviews with seven “stealth” FtMs in a variety of occupations, I argue that while non-disclosure at work for gays and lesbians is represented in the literature as moving away from a “true” identity of homosexual, the men in my study view non-disclosure as moving toward, or at least maintaining, their “true” identity of male, as they fear being placed in a female or non-male category by co-workers post-disclosure, thereby losing their personal gender identity.