Ewing (1987) has proposed a new legal doctrine called ‘Psychological Self‐Defense,’ which is intended to provide a legal justification for a killing committed under the threat of extremely serious psychological injury. This study examines the effect of such an affirmative defense on the verdict in two vignette cases in which a battered woman killed her abuser. One‐hundred ninety‐six subjects issued verdicts after reading the case vignettes and a series of jury instructions which varied by self‐defense instruction (Psychological Self‐Defense Only, Physical Self‐Defense Only, Psychological and Physical Self‐Defense, or none of these). Only Psychological Self‐Defense instructions significantly influenced verdict patterns, primarily by shifting would‐be voluntary manslaughter convictions to acquittals.
This study examined the development of baserate estimation skills for everyday social events and attitudes. Subjects in grades one, three, and six responded to questions concerning their own rates of behavior and attitudes, and their estimates of baserates of behaviors and attitudes for their classmates. The findings indicate a general increase in accuracy for the estimation of baserates throughout the elementary school years. In addition, younger subjects were less likely to make similar estimates for themselves and their classmates than were older respondents. Developmental changes in estimation accuracy are discussed in relation to task content, use of the response scale, correspondence between self-reports and estimates, and sample variability.
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