Adolescent witnesses in cases of teen dating violence: An analysis of peer responses

Josefa Ruiz

Description

Abstract
It has been suggested that calibration, and not correlation, could be a better analysis to examine the confidence-accuracy relationship. Calibration refers to the degree in which confidence ratings correspond with the objective probability that the answer is correct. However, to date calibration has been calculated only in a few studies that have addressed eyewitness identification, and never in the memory for events. For this reason, four experiments were conducted to examine the calibration between confidence and accuracy in the recognition and recall of a criminal situation. The basic procedure involved the presentation of a crime through slides or video, followed by a questionnaire. Confidence ratings were also required. Results showed in general a good confidence-accuracy calibration, with variations depending on the memory test and the variables manipulated. They also showed that participants are slightly overconfident, and that they do not calibrate confidence well in the low-medium levels of difficulty. The main conclusion of this research is that confidence could help to evaluate the accuracy of a testimony under certain circumstances, although generalising the results to real-life situations should be done with caution.
Resumen
En los últimos tiempos se ha sugerido que la correlación podría no ser el mejor medio para examinar la relación entre la confianza y la exactitud, y se ha propuesto que la calibración podría ser más adecuada. La calibración es el grado en que los juicios de confianza de los participantes corresponden con la probabilidad real u objetiva de que su respuesta sea correcta. Se realizaron cuatro experimentos para examinar la calibración entre la confianza y la exactitud en el recuerdo de una situación delictiva. El procedimiento general incluyó la presentación de un delito mediante diapositivas o vídeo seguido de una serie de preguntas en las que los participantes debían responder e indicar su confianza. Los resultados en general apuntan a una buena calibración entre la confianza y la exactitud, con variaciones en función de la prueba de memoria y las variables manipuladas. También se ha encontrado que los participantes responden con una cierta sobreconfianza y que no calibran su confianza adecuadamente en los niveles medio-bajos de dificultad. La conclusión de la investigación es que la confianza puede ayudar a evaluar la exactitud de una declaración en determinadas circunstancias.

Sujets

• Eyewitness memory
• Calibration
• Metamemory

Informations

• Publié par: erevistas
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 18
• Langue: English

Extrait

ISSN: 1889-1861 The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 2010, 2(1)
www.usc.es/sepjf


THE EUROPEAN JOURNAL
OF
PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED
TO
LEGAL CONTEXT








Volume 2, Number 1, January 2010










The official Journal of the
SOCIEDAD ESPAÑOLA DE PSICOLOGÍA JURÍDICA Y FORENSE
Website: http://www.usc.es/sepjf

ISSN 1889-1861 © The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context
Editor

Ramón Arce, University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).

Associate Editors

Gualberto Buela-Casal, University of Granada (Spain).
Francisca Fariña, University of Vigo (Spain).

Editorial Board

Rui Abrunhosa, University of O Miño (Portugal).
Ray Bull, University of Leicester (UK).
Thomas Bliesener, University of Kiel (Germany).
Fernando Chacón, Complutense University of Madrid (Spain).
Ángel Egido, University of Angers (France).
Antonio Godino, University of Lecce (Italy).
Günter Köhnken, University of Kiel (Germany).
Friedrich Lösel, University of Cambridge (UK).
María Ángeles Luengo, University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).
Eduardo Osuna, University of Murcia (Spain).
Ronald Roesch, Simon Fraser University (Canada).
Francisco Santolaya, President of the Spanish Psychological Association (Spain).
Juan Carlos Sierra, University of Granada (Spain).
Jorge Sobral, University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).
Max Steller, Free University of Berlin, (Germany).
Francisco Tortosa, University of Valencia (Spain).




Official Journal of the Sociedad Española de Psicología Jurídica y Forense
(www.usc.es/sepjf)
Published By: SEPJF.
Volume 2, Number, 1.
Order Form: see www.usc.es/sepjf
Frequency: 2 issues per year.
ISSN: 1889-1861.

The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 2010, 2(1)
www.usc.es/sepjf


CONTENTS
Articles
Editorial 1

Treatment of drug addiction and psychopathology: A field study
Manuel Isorna, Luis Fernández-Ríos, and Antonio Souto 3

Prediction of cannabis and cocaine use in adolescence using decision
trees and logistic regression
Elena Gervilla and Alfonso Palmer 19

Adolescent witnesses in cases of teen dating violence:
An analysis of peer responses
Josefa Ruiz, Francisca Expósito, and Helena Bonache 37

New advances in the study of the confidence-accuracy relationship
in the memory for events
Karlos Luna and Beatriz Martín-Luengo 55

Impression management strategies of deceivers and honest
reporters in an investigative interview
Amber Hines, Kevin Colwell, Cheryl Hiscock-Anisman,
Erika Garrett, Ryan Ansarra and Larissa Montalvo 73

ISSN 1889-1861 © The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context
The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 2010, 2(1): 37-53
www.usc.es/sepjf

ADOLESCENT WITNESSES IN CASES OF TEEN DATING
VIOLENCE: AN ANALYSIS OF PEER RESPONSES

Josefa Ruiz, Francisca Expósito, and Helena Bonache
Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada (Spain)

(Received 18 March 2009; revised 22 July 2009; accepted 24 July 2009)

Resumen Abstract
La violencia de género constituye un Gender violence is a serious problem
that also affects the adolescent population serio problema que afecta también a la
población adolescente (González & Santana, (González & Santana, 2001). The victims of
such violence in adolescence, should they seek 2001). Las víctimas de este tipo de violencia en
edad adolescente, en caso de buscar ayuda, help, rely primarily on their peers and rarely
report it to adults (Weisz et al., 2007). The recurren principalmente a sus iguales, y pocas
veces informan de ello a los adultos (Weisz y responses or reactions of avoidance,
minimization or protection that their peers may cols., 2007). Las respuestas o reacciones que los
iguales puedan tener, de evitación, protectoras o have contribute to the victim maintaining or
breaking the "unhealthy" relationship. An de minimización, contribuyen a que la víctima
se mantenga o rompa con la relación “no experimental study was designed to examine the
reactions of adolescents in the event that they saludable”. En un estudio experimental se
examinaron las reacciones de los adolescentes are witness to an episode of violence (verbal
and physical aggression) towards a friend. The en el caso de que fuesen testigos de un episodio
de violencia de género (agresión verbal y física) main objective was to analyze the differences in
their reactions according to sex of the witness, hacia una amiga. El principal objetivo del
estudio consistió en analizar las diferencias en familiarity with the perpetrator (stranger vs. a
friend) and the relationship between aggressor sus reacciones en función del sexo del testigo,
familiaridad con el agresor (extraño vs. un and victim (a date, romantic partner.) An
exploratory analysis of the influence of the amigo) y del tipo de relación entre agresor y
víctima (una cita, pareja).También se planteó un witnesses‟ sexist beliefs (hostile and
benevolent) on these reactions was also análisis exploratorio de la influencia de las
creencias sexistas (hostiles y benevolentes) del performed. Thus, more negative reactions were
found (greater passivity and less empathy) testigo/a en dichas reacciones. Se encontraron
reacciones más negativas (mayor pasividad y among men in the case where the victim
maintained a relationship with the offender than menor empatía) en los hombres en el caso en
que la víctima mantenía una relación con el in the case of a date, especially if the perpetrator
was a stranger. Also, in the girls more agresor que cuando se trataba de una cita,
especialmente si el agresor era una persona avoidance responses were found when the
violent episode occurred between members of a desconocida. También en las chicas se hallaron
mayores respuestas de evitación cuando el couple on a date. Finally, the practical
implications of the findings are discussed, episodio de violencia se daba entre miembros de
una pareja que en una cita. Finalmente, se highlighting the need to include guidelines in
programs against gender violence among discuten las implicaciones prácticas de los
hallazgos obtenidos destacando la necesidad de adolescents on how to behave if in relation to
the victim when they are witnesses of gender incluir en los programas de prevención de la
violencia de género entre adolescentes, violence.
orientaciones sobre cómo comportarse con la
víctima en caso de ser testigo de un caso de Keywords: witnesses, gender violence,
sexist beliefs, ambivalent sexism, male female violencia de este tipo.
relations.
Palabras clave: testigos, violencia de género,

creencias sexistas, sexismo ambivalente,

relaciones hombre mujer.

Correspondence: Josefa Ruiz. University of Granada. Faculty of Psychology. Campus Cartuja, s/n. 18071
Granada (Spain). E-mail: [e-mail]


ISSN 1889-1861 © The European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context
38 J. Ruiz et al.


Introduction

Research on the phenomenon of gender violence today shows that it is not only a
serious problem that affects adults, but also that such events occur with a significant
minority of adolescents: in the U.S., the figures range from 9% (Roscoe & Callahan,
1985) and 57% (Cascardi, Avery-Leaf, & O'Leary, 1994). The limited data available in
Spain suggests the same pattern. González and Santana (2001) found that 7.5% of boys
and 7.1% of girls admitted to having pushed or hit their partner on one or more
occasions. Moreover, according to results of another recent survey, 42% of girls in the
analysed sample aged 18 to 20 years had suffered a sexually coercive situation inflicted
on them by a male acquaintance at least once in their life (Fernández-Fuertes & Fuertes,
2005). This issue is addressed in the literature under the name of teen dating violence
(TDV), and includes studies that seek to analyse adolescent abuse, either physical,
psychological, emotional and/or sexual between partners in a relationship that is not
necessarily stable, and may be a single date (O'Keefe, 2005).
The empirical evidence seems to point to differences between the type of
gender-based violence exercised toward teenage victims and adult victims: in
adolescents there are more emotional and psychological abuses (threats, insults,
humiliation, impairment, blame, demand for obedience, emotional blackmail) than
physical attacks (punching, kicking, slapping, pushing, biting, fractures) and/or sexual
(Jezl, Molidor, & Wright, 1996). Furthermore, according to the literature reviewed, a
feature of the dynamic established in this phenomenon in adolescen