Research Round-up - Feb 28

by Petrichor Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:54 pm

Lawyers as Agents of the Devil in a Prisoner's Dilemma Game: Evidence from Long Run Play

Orley Ashenfelter, David Bloom & Gordon Dahl
NBER Working Paper, February 2013

Abstract:
Do the parties in a typical dispute face incentives similar to those in the classic prisoner's dilemma game? In this paper, we explore whether the costs and benefits of legal representation are such that each party seeks legal representation in the hope of exploiting the other party, while knowing full well that failing to do so will open up the possibility of being exploited. The paper first shows how it is possible to test for the presence of such an incentive structure in a typical dispute resolution system. It then reports estimates of the incentives for the parties to obtain legal representation in wage disputes that were settled by final-offer arbitration in New Jersey. The paper also reports briefly on similar studies of data from discharge grievances, court-annexed disputes in Pittsburgh, and child custody disputes in California. In each case, the data provide evidence that the parties face strong individual incentives to obtain legal representation which makes the parties jointly worse off. Using our New Jersey data, we find that expert agents may well have played a productive role in moderating the biases of their clients, but only early on in the history of the system. Over time, the parties slowly evolved to a non-cooperative equilibrium where the use of lawyers becomes nearly universal, despite the fact that agreeing not to hire lawyers is cheaper and does not appear to alter arbitration outcomes.

by Petrichor Thu Feb 28, 2013 4:57 pm

Catching liars: Training mental health and legal professionals to detect high-stakes lies

Julia Shaw, Stephen Porter & Leanne ten Brinke
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, forthcoming

Abstract:
Although the ability to detect deception is critical in many professional contexts, most observers (including professional lie-catchers) are able to identify deceivers at the level of chance only. Further, almost all studies of deception detection have used low-stakes deception scenarios in determining deceptive behavior and training effectiveness. We evaluated the effectiveness of a comprehensive, empirically based full-day training workshop in improving the ability of 42 legal and mental health professionals to detect extremely high-stakes emotional lies. Their ability to discriminate sincere and insincere pleaders was measured at baseline and post-training. Overall, accuracy increased significantly from M = 46.4 to 80.9%. We cautiously suggest that training professionals to apply empirically validated methods to deception detection can increase their ability to correctly discriminate between liars and truth-tellers. Strategies to facilitate the detection of deception via the development of training programs are discussed.

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by Petrichor Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:08 pm

Father-Daughter Communication About Sex Moderates the Association Between Exposure to MTV's 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom and Female Students' Pregnancy-Risk Behavior

Paul Wright, Ashley Randall & Analisa Arroyo
Sexuality & Culture, March 2013, Pages 50-66

Abstract:
MTV's hit programs 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have been the subject of national debate since their inception. Supporters contend that the shows inhibit pregnancy-risk behavior. Critics contend that the shows glamorize adolescent motherhood and encourage pregnancy-risk behavior. The present study explored the possibility that the association between viewing 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom and student females' pregnancy-risk behavior depends on the extent to which females' parents communicated with them about sex while they were growing up. Survey data were gathered from 313 female students. A disordinal interaction was found between father-daughter sexual communication, viewing frequency, and recent intercourse behavior. Frequent viewing was associated with an increased probability of having engaged in recent intercourse for females whose fathers did not communicate with them about sex while growing up. Conversely, frequent viewing was associated with a decreased probability of having engaged in recent intercourse for females whose fathers often communicated about sex with them while growing up. No interaction was found between mother-daughter sexual communication, viewing frequency, and recent intercourse behavior. These results suggest that fathers may play an especially important role in determining how sexual media socialize their daughters.

by Petrichor Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:12 pm

Can Parental Monitoring and Peer Management Reduce the Selection or Influence of Delinquent Peers? Testing the Question Using a Dynamic Social Network Approach

Lauree Tilton-Weaver et al.
Developmental Psychology, forthcoming

Abstract:
We tested whether parents can reduce affiliation with delinquent peers through 3 forms of peer management: soliciting information, monitoring rules, and communicating disapproval of peers. We examined whether peer management interrupted 2 peer processes: selection and influence of delinquent peers. Adolescents' feelings of being overcontrolled by parents were examined as an additional moderator of delinquent selection and influence. Using network data from a community sample (N = 1,730), we tested whether selection and influence processes varied across early, middle, and late adolescent cohorts. Selection and influence of delinquent peers were evident in all 3 cohorts and did not differ in strength. Parental monitoring rules reduced the selection of delinquent peers in the oldest cohort. A similar effect was found in the early adolescent cohort, but only for adolescents who did not feel overcontrolled by parents. Monitoring rules increased the likelihood of selecting a delinquent friend among those who felt overcontrolled. The effectiveness of communicating disapproval was also mixed: in the middle adolescent network, communicating disapproval increased the likelihood of an adolescent selecting a delinquent friend. Among late adolescents, high levels of communicating disapproval were effective, reducing the influence of delinquent peers for adolescents reporting higher rates of delinquency. For those who reported lower levels of delinquency, high levels of communicating disapproval increased the influence of delinquent peers. The results of this study suggest that the effectiveness of monitoring and peer management depend on the type of behavior, the timing of its use, and whether adolescents feel overcontrolled by parents.

by Petrichor Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:13 pm

Risk behaviour in Swedish adolescents: Is shared physical custody after divorce a risk or a protective factor?

Åsa Carlsund et al.
European Journal of Public Health, February 2013, Pages 3-8

Background: The increase in shared physical custody in Sweden has been dramatic; 20 years ago only a small percentage of adolescents lived in shared physical custody, but currently ∼30% of the adolescents whose parents have separated or divorced divide their residence between parents. We hypothesized that living in shared physical custody or in a single-parent family is associated with a higher prevalence of adolescent risk behaviour than living in a two-parent family.

Methods: Data on 15-year-old adolescents from the 2005/2006 to 2009/2010 Swedish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey were analysed using logistic regression.

Results: Adolescents living in shared physical custody had slightly higher rates of risk behaviour compared with adolescents from two-parent families, but significantly lower rates than their counterparts from single-parent families. Their odds of being a smoker or having been drunk were 60 and 50% higher, respectively, than those of their counterparts in two-parent families.

Conclusion: Shared physical custody after marriage break-up seems to constitute a health protective factor for adolescents' health and problem behaviour. In order to deepen our understanding of the positive and negative aspects of shared physical custody, our study should be followed by qualitative analyses and longitudinal studies of adolescents' experiences.

by Idéfix Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:18 pm

These are some fascinating topics... particularly lawyering up because of the prisoner's dilemma and the father-daughter communication being correlated with sexual behavior. On the latter topic, I wonder how much of the difference was because of any gap between claims and reality.

by Petrichor Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:39 pm

panileni paparao wrote:On the latter topic, I wonder how much of the difference was because of any gap between claims and reality.

Are you wondering about the survey responses' truthfulness?

by Idéfix Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:52 pm

Muezzin-Bar'chu wrote:
panileni paparao wrote:On the latter topic, I wonder how much of the difference was because of any gap between claims and reality.

Are you wondering about the survey responses' truthfulness?

Yes. Is there a strong correlation between "a woman's truthfulness about her sexual behavior" and "communication with her father about sex"? If there is, that would affect the study results. But the researchers hopefully took care of it somehow.

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