Archival data from cases adjudicated by jury in El Paso and Bexar County, Texas, were used to test whether a similarity-leniency effect, an out-group punitiveness effect, or a black sheep effect (BSE; J. M. Marques, V. Y. Yzerbyt, & J. P. Leyens, 1988) influenced jury decisions. Defendant ethnicity, jury ethnic composition, and strength of evidence against the defendant were coded for 418 closed noncapital, felony cases to test their impact on trial verdicts and sentence lengths. Results indicated complex relations exist among juror and defendant characteristics and their influence on trial outcomes. No support was found for any of the theoretical models as predictors of jury decisionmaking. Strength of evidence was the most influential variable for both verdicts and length of sentences. Case strength, defendant ethnicity, and jury composition were related to sentence lengths.

This study examined whether reinforcement can induce children to falsely incriminate themselves. Ninety-nine children in kindergarten through third grade were questioned regarding the staged theft of a toy. Half received reinforcement for self-incriminating responses. Within 4 min reinforced children made 52% false admissions of guilty knowledge concerning the theft, and 30% false admissions of having witnessed it. Corresponding figures for controls were 36 and 10%. Twelve percent of children admitted to participating in the theft, but the effect of reinforcement was only marginally significant. The findings indicate that reinforcement can induce children to falsely implicate themselves in wrongdoing.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of an evidence-based 12-week Tai Chi course designed to improve balance and physical function in a population of older veterans.Methods: Community dwelling veterans of all ages with gait and balance problems were invited to participate in the Tai Chi program. Participants completed the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) at baseline and again at the end of the program.Descriptive statistics were used to summarize study participants' characteristics.The change from baseline to the end of the 12-week program was calculated for each of the three primary outcome variables (BBS, TUG, FES-I).Results: Twenty-two veterans, aged 58 years and above, with perceived gait and/or balance issues were enrolled in the program with completion by 11 veterans.Veterans who completed their final assessments showed the BBS, improved significantly (p = 0.004) from baseline to the 12-week assessment. The TUG scores improved by a median of 1.3 s (p = 0.022). There was not a significant change in the FES-I.Conclusions: Preliminary findings provide evidence of the effectiveness of a 12-week Tai Chi program to improve functional outcomes for older veterans with mild to moderate gait and balance problems.

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