Can reinforcement induce children to falsely incriminate themselves?

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.

Advancing scientific discourse in the controversy surrounding the Comprehensive System for the Rorschach: a rejoinder to Meyer (2000).

A recent commentary by Meyer (2000) in the Journal of Personality Assessment alleged that Rorschach critic Wood and his colleagues had intentionally published information that they knew to be in error. To substantiate this contention, Meyer's commentary published information that was part of the peer review process at another journal. In this rejoinder, we present factual information that shows we have consistently acted in good faith.

How sexual abuse interviews go astray: implications for prosecutors, police, and child protection services.

This article argues that child sexual abuse interviews can go astray in two different ways: (a) improper interviewing has the potential to elicit false allegations from children, and (b) clumsy interviewing does not typically produce false allegations, but may have other negative consequences, particularly for child victims. The article clarifies the distinction between the two kinds of bad interviewing and suggests that clumsy interviewing is the more common of the two. The potential negative consequences of both improper and clumsy interviewing are described, along with implications for prosecutors, police, and child protection services.

Allegations of wrongdoing: the effects of reinforcement on children's mundane and fantastic claims.

S. Garven, J. M.

Methodological issues in evaluating Rorschach validity: a comment on Burns and Viglione (1996), Weiner (1996), and Ganellen (1996).

The old controversy regarding the Rorschach Inkblot Test has recently revived. The present article suggests that the debate will be most productive if careful attention is paid to methodological issues. Three recent examples illustrate how incorrect conclusions regarding Rorschach validity may occur if methodological issues are not evaluated carefully.