Dealing with unwanted thoughts is a recurrent phenomenon in everyday life. The present study focuses on intrusive thoughts in the work context and examines the protective function of thought control for self‐esteem. Possible mediators (negative affect, task focus) and individual differences in the ability to control unwanted thoughts are also considered. We assessed 143 employees' individual ability

We set out to investigate whether inter‐individual differences in cognition affect the susceptibility to four forecasting biases: (1) optimism bias, (2) adding noise to forecasts, (3) presuming positive autocorrelation when series are independent and (4) trend damping. All four biases were prevalent in the results, but we found no consistent relationships with cognition (cognitive style, cognitive

The present study examined whether a defense rebuttal expert can effectively educate jurors on the risk that the prosecution's fingerprint expert made an error. Using a sample of 1716 jury‐eligible adults, we examined the impact of three types of rebuttal testimony in a mock trial: (a) a methodological rebuttal explaining the general risk of error in the fingerprint‐comparison process; (b) a new‐evidence

Although we are constantly making spatial decisions about where to place our objects and ourselves, few studies in psychology have investigated this phenomenon in‐depth. In the current study, we examined how spatial decisions are made over time by tracking students’ seating choices in classrooms over the course of a semester (i.e., 12 weeks). We found that seating choice became more fixed over time

We investigated the processes that make seductive details (i.e., interesting but irrelevant pictures and text passages in learning materials) harmful for learning scientific concepts and principles. In our experiment, students (N = 113) learned without seductive details (control condition) or with seductive details, and afterwards worked on a knowledge test. They then retrospectively verbalized their

This study examined the relevance of the cognitive interview (CI) for the recall of a road accident by actual victims, depending on the level of stress experienced at the time of the event. Fifty‐six victims (or witnesses) were interviewed, either with a CI or control interview, after completing a series of questionnaires including measures of their stress level during the accident. Participants who

Meditative mindfulness practices, promoting sustained attention and reducing mind‐wandering, have been associated with improvements in cognitive abilities and memory. The present study explored whether a non‐meditative practice could be successfully applied in a forensic application; specifically, whether mindfulness instructions can be embedded in the face‐composite construction process to facilitate

Research on investigative interviewing has highlighted the role of rapport in non‐confrontational, evidence‐based interviewing procedures, but questions remain about the nature and function of rapport in such interviews. Across three samples drawn from multiple previous studies involving very similar methodologies, we addressed four issues: a potential role of working alliance as a rapport component

Corrections are not always effective at reducing belief in misinformation. Negated corrections, which state a piece of information is not true, may only be effective at inhibiting information an observer has already encountered. We compared the effectiveness of negated corrections and replacements while manipulating initial exposure to a target concept. Subjects read one (Experiment 1) or six (Experiment

Troubleshooting is a particular problem‐solving process comprising error detection, fault diagnosis, and system restoration. Since automation of systems has become increasingly complex and ubiquitous, troubleshooting skills are crucial to maintain safety and security in a variety of contexts. The planned study aims at examining troubleshooting strategies and how to induce them by means of simple visual

Research suggests exposure to misinformation continues to impact belief and reasoning, even if that misinformation has been corrected (referred to as the Continued Influence Effect, CIE). The proposed experiment explores two potentially important factors that may impact the effect: (a) learner age and (b) length of delay between retraction and final test. During initial learning, participants (both

Adults with posttraumatic stress disorder from childhood trauma (ch‐PTSD) described their 'worst' traumatic event (a single or repeated event) pre‐post treatment for PTSD during an international clinical trial. The memory reports were coded for specificity (Episodic vs. General) and level of detail. Repeated event (RE) narratives contained more generic and fewer episodic references but no more details

Studies examining the effect of social isolation on cognitive function typically involve older adults and/or specialist groups (e.g., expeditions). We considered the effects of COVID‐19‐induced social isolation on cognitive function within a representative sample of the general population. We additionally considered how participants ‘shielding’ due to underlying health complications, or living alone

Dental students commit many errors when diagnosing radiographs. To improve performance, students were asked to compare radiographs (with and without disease or with the same disease); relevant structures were highlighted in the radiographs. In a crossover design, students were randomly assigned to two groups differing in training order: Students in the peripheral‐central‐group (N = 39) were first trained

Introduction to the Special Issue ‐ “What works?” Systematic reviews and meta‐analyses of the investigative interviewing research literature – Christian A. Meissner ACP‐20‐0172: Exploring the Use of Rapport in Professional Information‐Gathering Contexts by Systematically Mapping the Evidence Base – Fiona Gabbert, Lorraine Hope, Kirk Luther, Gordon Wright, Magdalene Ng, & Gavin Oxburgh ACP‐20‐0165:

While the practice of investigative interviewing has traditionally been grounded in customary knowledge, decades of research have now enhanced our understanding of the limits of these practices and led to the development of novel, theoretically informed approaches. The maturity of any science is likely best evidenced in the conduct of systematic reviews and meta‐analyses, and the investigative interviewing

In this commentary, I offer several reflections on this important Special Issue focused on the science of investigative interviewing. While the number of syntheses and their quality are impressive, I note that a majority of the papers included in the issue focus on techniques for detecting deception. I urge scholars to focus also on developing and evaluating techniques for eliciting information from

Constructive changes in the practice of investigative interviewing have emerged as a direct result of an unprecedented and robust collaboration between behavioral science researchers and professionals in the field. At the same time, an ever‐increasing number of experienced practitioners have shown a willingness to adopt science‐based methods in the course of their work. This has highlighted the unique

We recently published a study of extended forensic child interviews in Norway which included a large sample (n = 207) of interviews with preschool‐aged children (Baugerud et al., 2020). Criticizing the study, Melinder, Magnusson, Ask, et al. (2020) make the bold assertion that: “when [the reader adopts] a different perspective and contextual knowledge [it] change the conclusions.” We were curious to

Activities can have substantial impacts on temporal experience. We investigated how the impact of being active develops dynamically over the course of long waiting times. Participants waited in a library building, either sitting passively or walking around actively, for between 60 and 100 minutes. Retrospectively, they reported how different aspects of their temporal experiences developed throughout

Memory for the temporal order of past events is a critical capacity; however, relatively little is known about its development and the processes that support it in early to middle childhood. The aim of this study was to examine children's memory for the temporal order of real‐world events. Four–five‐year‐old (n = 36), 6–7‐year‐old (n = 45) and 8–10‐year‐old (n = 46) children participated in a week‐long

The practice assignments in a mathematics textbook or course can be arranged so that most of the problems relating to any particular concept are massed together in a single assignment, or these related problems can be distributed across many assignments–a format known as spaced practice. Here we report the results of two classroom experiments that assessed the effects of mathematics spacing on both

Research with children and adults suggests verbal references to negative emotion support narrative recall. To date, however, the effects of gesture on emotion recall have been ignored. Children (4–6 years) and adults viewed videos containing negatively valenced, positively valenced, and emotionally neutral stories. The narrator provided gestures reflecting the bodily state of the protagonist (negative

Accurate event sequencing can add critical detail to a child's account. However, our knowledge of sequencing in childhood to date primarily centers on distinct events separated by time. Sequencing a single event's components is also important, perhaps particularly in a forensic context. In two experiments, we explored children's ability to recall the sequence of a past event using a variety of prompts

Individual differences in face identification ability range from prosopagnosia to super‐recognition. The current study examined whether face identification ability predicts voice identification ability (participants: N = 529). Superior‐face‐identifiers (exceptional at face memory and matching), superior‐face‐recognisers (exceptional at face memory only), superior‐face‐matchers (exceptional face matchers

This study was the first to test both the independent and additive effects of change‐detection prompts and warnings about potential discrepancies between an event and post‐event information on susceptibility to misinformation. Participants (N = 239) viewed a mock crime video, read a post‐event narrative containing misinformation, and completed a memory test about the video content. Participants were

In this article, we develop the revised and short versions of the pseudoscientific belief scale through two empirical studies (N = 4154). This revision is motivated by the excessive length of the scale, as well as by consistent observations of poor item loadings across several studies. Exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 revealed 11 dispensable items, resulting in a 19‐item revised form, whereas

The Cambridge Face Memory Test Long (CFMT+) is used to investigate extraordinary face recognition abilities (super‐recognizers [SR]). Whether lab and online presentation of the CFMT+ lead to different test performance has not yet been investigated. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate psychometric properties of the CFMT+ and the Glasgow face matching test – short (GFMT‐S). We report item difficulties

The present study examined the effects of demonstrative evidence on mock jurors' pain and suffering damage awards and the psychological processes underlying those effects. Participants read excerpts from the plaintiff's and his expert's testimony and saw photo simulations of the plaintiff's visual impairments that they were instructed to treat either as substantive evidence or illustrative aids, or

This investigation examined the relation between two sources of bias when people remember how they felt about political events: their current appraisals of the past political event and their current feelings about it. We assessed participants' memories for their emotional response to a major political event: the 2016 United Kingdom referendum on European Union membership. Participants reported their

Forty French gendarmes from the Gendarmerie Nationale, and 40 laypersons completed two experiments to assess how they make inferences from testimonies. The first experiment targeted how inferences are made when the critical information on which a judgment has to be made is explicitly stated in the testimony or it is implicit and has to be inferred. The second experiment assessed the comprehension of

The prevalence effect is a phenomenon whereby target prevalence impacts performance in visual search (e.g., baggage screening) and visual comparison (e.g., face‐matching) tasks – people more often 'miss' infrequent target stimuli. The current study investigated prevalence effects in fingerprint identification – an important visual comparison task used in criminal investigations. Participants (N = 287)

We used the cognitive load inventory for handoffs (CLIH) to identify predictors of cognitive load types during patient handoffs in order to identify opportunities to improve instruction. In 2019, out of a total of 1,807 residents and fellows within a 24‐hospital health system, 693 (38.4%) completed the CLIH after a patient handoff. Multivariable regression yielded predictors for each cognitive load

A body of research indicates that the inclusion of seductive details in instructional materials negatively impacts learning. However, there is scant research that examines the format and the amount of seductive details as potential moderating factors across multiple learning outcomes. In two studies, one focused on seductive pictures and one on seductive text, we examined whether the amount of seductive

Domestic violence typically recurs over time, involving the same victim and perpetrator. When complainants make an allegation about abuse, they are required to particularise the offence and recall details unique to specific occurrences. This experiment investigated adults' ability to particularise an occurrence after experiencing a single or repeated event. Participants watched one or multiple videos

Societal crises and stressful events are associated with an upsurge of conspiracy beliefs that may help people to tackle feelings of lack of control. In our study (N = 783), we examined whether people with higher feelings of anxiety and lack of control early in the COVID‐19 pandemic endorse more conspiracy theories. Our results show that a higher perception of risk of COVID‐19 and lower trust in institutions'

As part of the first author's expert testimony at a court trial, we investigated hindsight bias in perceptions of the predictability of a real flash flood. Participants were presented with pictures taken before the flash flood and asked to rate the muddiness of the water and judge the likelihood of flooding in Experiment 1. Participants who were informed that a flash flood had occurred perceived the

People who report greater belief in pure evil (BPE; the tendency to attribute harmdoing to dispositionally sadistic perpetrators) generally punish criminal perpetrators more regardless of mitigating circumstances (e.g., having a brain tumor). What attributional/cognitive processes underlie such punishment? A national sample (final N = 302) read an alleged USA Today article about a mall shooting. We

Finding messaging to promote the use of face masks is fundamental during a pandemic. Study 1 (N = 399) shows that telling people to “rely on their reasoning” increases intentions to wear a face mask, compared with telling them to “rely on their emotions.” In Study 2 (N = 591) we add a baseline. However, the results show only a non‐significant trend. Study 3 reports a well‐powered replication of Study

The application of knowledge to new contexts (i.e., transfer) is a central aim of learning processes and has become a new focus of testing effect research. In a quasi‐experimental design, we investigated the transfer of retrieval practice effects on English vocabulary learning on eighth‐grade students (N = 182) by applying a typical testing effect study paradigm including study, initial test or restudy

Critical thinking is of paramount importance in our society. People regularly assume that critical thinking is a way to reduce conspiracy belief, although the relationship between critical thinking and conspiracy belief has never been tested. We conducted two studies (Study 1, N = 86; Study 2, N = 252), in which we found that critical thinking ability—measured by an open‐ended test emphasizing several

When co‐witnesses exchange information, false information may be presented, and false memories could be created. This co‐witness suggestibility effect has been studied in face‐to‐face interactions, and little is known about the impact of online discussions on co‐witnesses' memories. In two experiments, we explored whether (1) the co‐witness suggestibility effect appeared following online discussion

The emotional valence of memory recall strongly influences the extreme, and often self‐destructive behavioral response. Overall, 4427 people from the community filled out our screening questionnaire, of which 674 (mean age: 32.9 years, 64.7% women) passed the threshold for the likely presence of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Participants watched one of 9 possible video clips differing in valence

To date, studies exploring the relationship of counterfactual thoughts with episodic memories and episodic future thoughts have focused mainly on voluntary mental time travel. We explore mental time travel in everyday life and find that episodic counterfactual thinking occurs to a much lesser extent than thinking about the past or the future (12%, 22%, and 54%, respectively), is used mainly for mood

Recent research shows that the quality of a baseline (i.e., the analysis of one's behavior in normal conditions) decreases when the second narrative is expected and deceitful. However, a first step would be to investigate whether the writing of a first narrative might influence the second, independently of its expectancy. In this study, we hypothesized that second narratives would be less detailed

Nahari, Vrij, and Fischer [(2014b), Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28, 122–128] found that, when participants were forewarned that their statements would be checked for verifiable details, truth tellers gave much more verifiable details than liars. In this direct replication (n = 72), participants wrote a statement claiming they had carried out their regular campus activities, whereas liars had actually

D. Stephen Lindsay: ‘Commentary for special issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology in honor of Alan Scoboria.’ Applied Cognitive Psychology, 34,1345‐1349. On page 1348 it was stated: “Brewin and Andrews (2017) reviewed the literature on false memories and argued that the rate of false memories in the real world is no higher than 15% of individuals exposed to suggestive influences. But any “upper limit”

Technology has enabled various alternative educational platforms, such as online courses. Compared to human instructors in traditional educational environments, alternative platforms often show a limited capacity to evaluate the learning progress of students and implement intervention strategies based on the evaluation. Here, we tested participants' hand motions, recorded using a computer mouse and

In multimedia learning, graphs are seen as just one specific instance of pictorial representations requiring the same cognitive processes as realistic depictions. Accordingly, learning from text‐graph combinations should also benefit from the same instructional support such as signaling of text‐picture correspondences depending on learners' prior knowledge. We investigated whether this expertise reversal

This study examined learners' calibration of their executive function performance and the contribution of learners' calibration accuracy to their self‐regulated learning. A measure of calibration bias of EF performance is introduced and an evaluation of the utility of the measure is presented. Direct and indirect measures of EF, an assessment of students' metacognitive strategy use, and academic achievement

Expert witnesses and scholars sometimes disagree on whether suggestibility and compliance are related to people's tendency to falsely confess. Hence, the principal aim of this review was to amass the available evidence on the link between suggestibility and compliance and false confessions. We reviewed experimental data in which false confessions were experimentally evoked and suggestibility and compliance

We examined the incidence of recovered memories of child abuse in a large French general public sample (N = 3346). Of the 905 (27% of total sample) who reported having memories of abuse, 211 (23%) reported recovered memories of child abuse that they had no previous memory of, with 82 of these (9% of the 905) reporting that they did not know they were abused beforehand. Ninety percent of the latter

This study explored the impact of the think‐aloud research methodology on multiple‐documents comprehension outcomes. The participants in this study were 168 University students. The procedure included three steps. First, students were administered the tests measuring prior topic beliefs, topic interest, and topic knowledge. Then, students were given six documents to read, and were randomly assigned

Generated information is better recognized and recalled than information that is read. This so‐called generation effect has been replicated several times for different types of material, including texts. Perhaps the most influential demonstration was by McDaniel et al. (1986, Journal of Memory and Language, 25, 645–656; henceforth MEDC). This group tested whether the generation effect occurs only if

Person descriptions often lack the level of detail necessary to assist in the apprehension of a perpetrator. To date, it is not clear how person descriptions are obtained by frontline police officers. Worldwide, many police forces now use body worn video (BWV), which provides a unique opportunity to examine how frontline police officers gather person descriptions from witnesses. We examined how person

We conducted a meta‐analysis on the most commonly used forensic polygraph test, the Comparison Question Test. We captured as many studies as possible by using broad inclusion criteria. Data and potential moderators were coded from 138 datasets. The meta‐analytic effect size including inconclusive outcomes was 0.69 [0.66, 0.79]. We found significant moderator effects. Notably, level of motivation had

The current meta‐analysis examines the cognitive approach to lie detection. Our goal was to assess the practical utility of this approach by examining whether it improves the lie detection ability of human observers. The cognitive approach to lie detection led to an average accuracy rate of 60.00%, 95% CI [56.42; 63.53] and a bias corrected average accuracy rate of 55.03%, 95% CI [48.83; 61.16]. Critically

Content‐based techniques for credibility assessment (Criteria‐Based Content Analysis [CBCA], Reality Monitoring [RM]) have been shown to distinguish between experience‐based and fabricated statements in previous meta‐analyses. New simulations raised the question whether these results are reliable revealing that using meta‐analytic methods on biased datasets lead to false‐positive rates of up to 100%

Learning by teaching can be effective, yet many students fail to engage in knowledge building, in which they actively generate inferences and connect the material to their existing knowledge. Recent research suggests creating drawings while orally explaining to others fosters knowledge building and long‐term learning; however, the mechanisms underlying this effect—generation, visualization, or both—remain

The Verifiability Approach predicts that truth tellers will include details that can be verified by the interviewer, whereas liars will refrain from providing such details. A meta‐analysis revealed that truth tellers indeed provided more verifiable details (k = 28, d = 0.49, 95% CI [0.25; 0.74], BF10 = 93.28), and a higher proportion of verifiable details (k = 26, d = 0.49 95% CI: 0.25, 0.74, p <