Pretrial Predictors of Judgments in the O. J. Simpson Case

Five hundred seventy-eight community college and four-year state university students responded to questionnaires designed to assess judgments regarding O. J. Simpson's guilt, beliefs surrounding the case, general attitudes, and background information. Although African Americans were more likely to perceive Simpson as innocent than non–African Americans, correlation analyses revealed that, for the most part, the same predictors explained African Americans' and non–African American's judgments of guilt. Finally, set-wise hierarchical regression analyses indicated that case-related beliefs that Simpson abused Nicole Brown Simpson and that the system was biased against him accounted for more significant incremental variance than did demographic variables such as age and ethnicity, personal experiences, and general attitudes. The results suggested that the racial polarization emphasized in public polls does not reflect the diversity of beliefs that existed within both African American and European American populations.     

O. J. Simpson: A Threat to Internal Validity?

We examined the effects of a naturally occurring social event that had the potential to affect the results of an ongoing research project evaluating knowledge of and beliefs about battering in a simulated battered woman's homicide trial. When the O. J. Simpson murder allegations first unfolded, the study was 75% completed. The extent of media attention to issues of battering and domestic homicide necessitated the inclusion of additional research participants and more in-depth study of several related issues. Very few differences between pre-Simpson and post-Simpson participants were unearthed. For the majority of participants, the issue of domestic violence was likely not salient and was seen as a contextual factor for understanding why the homicides might have occurred, rather than as an independent focal point of substantive concern.     

The O. J. Simpson Trial: Challenges to Science and Society

The O. J. Simpson murder and civil trials riveted the nation and much of the world for more than two years. Of tremendous scientific and public interest was the gulf in attitudes, perceptions, and reactions to the not guilty verdict at the criminal trial. The collection of articles in this issue of The Journal of Social Issues converged on the idea that race is an inadequate explanatory variable in understanding these differences in attitudes, perceptions, and reactions. Instead, race is a marker for a variety of cultural and experiential issues that affect cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes. This concluding article debunks simplistic ideas of race and points to the broader problems of racism and discrimination, criminal injustice, and violence in social relations. The article concludes with suggestions for future research and a call for a broader transformation in societal institutions that affect the quality of social relations.     

The O. J. Simpson Verdict: Predictors of Beliefs about Innocence or Guilt

This study examined ethnicity and psychological predictors of beliefs in guilt and innocence in the O. J. Simpson trial. A mixed-gender, multiethnic sample of 441 college students completed measures examining trial beliefs, trial-related attitudes, ethnic identification, pro- and anti-Black attitudes, and authoritarian personality traits. Results revealed that: (1) mean differences existed among ethnic groups on all variables examined; (2) proximal attitudes mediated relations between psychological characteristics and trial outcome beliefs; and (3) specific relations depended (to some extent) on ethnic group membership. Differences within and between ethnic groups may reflect schematic differences due to differential experiences with societal institutions, identification with (or rejection of) mainstream values, and race relations in American society.     

Cognitive-Affective Processing System Analysis of Reactions to the O. J. Simpson Criminal Trial Verdict

Reactions to the O. J. Simpson verdict were analyzed using the Cognitive-Affective Processing System (CAPS) model. Content analyses of participants' open-ended reactions to the verdict revealed that differences in the accessibility of cognitive-affective units and their subsequent activation pathways characterized respondents' reactions, but participants' race appeared to have no direct effect. The results were used to construct cognitive-affective domain maps that underlay elated, dismayed, and ambivalent reactions. By promoting a deeper understanding and appreciation of reactions to the verdict, we believe the domain maps facilitate overcoming the widespread tendency to attribute the cause of divergent reactions to an individual's race. The results have implications for the understanding of cultural differences.     

Reactions to the O. J. Simpson Verdict: "Mindless Tribalism" or Motivated Inference Processes?

The difference in opinion between White Americans and Black Americans as to whether O. J. Simpson is guilty of murder can be understood within the context of the literature on motivated inference. Both self-serving and group-serving motives can lead to bias in how people gather, interpret, and integrate evidence. The current study revealed that the relative salience of race and gender in women's self-concepts (measured by the Twenty Statements Test) was associated with different beliefs about Simpson's innocence or guilt. Although Black women were more likely than White women to believe that Simpson was not guilty, this was more true for Black women who spontaneously self-identified in terms of race. Similarly, when gender was an accessible aspect of identity, women were more likely to believe that Simpson was guilty. High need for cognition (i.e., the tendency to engage in effortful cognitive activity) actually magnified some of these differences.     

Political Identity: A Perspective from Cultural Identity

Identity is the “sameness” and belonging of identification. In a real sense, cultural identity is often related to ethno-cultural identity, while political identity and national identity are more often inseparable. Cultural identity lays particular stress on the group destiny of a people or ethnic group from which its members cannot withdraw. Political identity, on the other hand, highlights the subjective values and intentions chosen, judged and assessed by the members of society. Since modern times, politics, as the surface of the social structure, has demonstrated increasingly serious conflict and perplexity, and the decline of the political identity has gradually developed into a common social phenomenon. Considering the high complementarity and the mutual stimulation between cultural identity and political identity, we should take cultural identity as the pivot for our entry into the actual practice of community politics, with a view to promoting institutional innovations, making interest adjustments, and intensifying the community members’ sense of belonging. These are exceptionally meaningful for strengthening the political identity of a community.     

Beliefs of Guilt and Recommended Sentence as a Function of Juror Bias in the O. J. Simpson Trial

During the week of April 9, 1995, 125 male participants completed a questionnaire assessing attitudes toward the O. J. Simpson trial. Specifically, participants reported their belief in the defendant's guilt or innocence, stated how fair they perceived the trial to be, and recommended a sentence should the defendant be found guilty of the crime. Additionally, participants completed Kassin and Wrightsman's Juror Bias Scale and the revised California F scale. Overall, results showed that participants' scores on both scales were positively correlated with their beliefs in the defendant's guilt, perceived trial fairness, and more severe sentence recommendations.     

National Identity in the Context of Globalization: A Structural Perspective

In this era of “liquid modernity,” China faces the dual pressures of external globalization and internal social transformation. Within these dual space-time coordinates, academic research should address the question of what makes national identity possible by moving away from its fixation on macro-narratives and concrete micro-analysis of civic or ethnic identity, etc., to focus on meso-analysis. To do this, it is important to allay individuals’ ontological anxiety so that they return to ontological security; to realize the production and reproduction of a national centripetal force; and to highlight the functional power of national identity. Both theoretical studies and real-world experience show that national identity cannot play a stable and coherent role on its own, but needs the structural support of three fundamental systems: economic incentives, political values, and institutional organization. The functional cohesion of these systems provides an effective path to the realization of national identity.     

A Framework for Exploring Different Judgments of Social Need

Starting from the position that the source of definitions of social need must be examined, the paper suggests that it is also of value to analyse the sequential process through which a series of judgments about need is made by both consumers and providers of services. A framework is suggested by which the relationship between source and sequence of need judgments may be explored, and the factors influencing them identified. This framework is also used to clarify some ambiguities in the use of the term ‘need’, and to consider some implications for need studies. A consensus definition of need is offered in the light of this discussion.     

社会融合视角下聋人大学生身份认同及其影响因素研究

认同被视为个人对外在环境和自身状况的综合反映,相当程度上能够表现出个人心理层面社会融合的状态。本文以N学院在校全部聋人大学生为研究对象,通过304份问卷调查,对他们身份认同进行研究,结果表明：聋人大学生身份认同呈现四个倾向分化并处于一定困境之中;听力损失年龄在四个认同倾向上影响并不显著,性别、听力损失程度、家庭背景、家庭教育、学校受教育方式、学业成绩以及社会交往等因素对身份认同影响比较显著。政府、学校及家庭等相关人员要关注聋人大学生身份认同困境并寻找对策以促进他们融入社会。     

A Lesbian Older Adult Managing Identity Disclosure: A Case Study

The aim of this study was to explore the experience of an older lesbian in managing the disclosure of her sexual identity. Specifically, the team wanted to better understand the ways she managed her identity in an assisted living facility. Using a qualitative case study methodology, 2 in-depth interviews were conducted. The following 5 themes were identified in the data: keeping her own counsel, maintaining “family” connection, celebrating second chances, living outside the L box, and staying morally centered. Practice and research implications are offered and the case study is used to expand understanding of disclosure management and resiliency theory.     

Defining Service Coordination: A Social Work Perspective

To address fragmentation, social workers are encouraged to "coordinate." This pilot study explores the meaning of, and factors that facilitate or prevent "coordination" and is intended as a first step toward future conceptual refinement, theory development, and system interventions. Using data from treatment guidelines archived by the National Guideline Clearinghouse (n=9) and semi-structured interviews with social workers (n=4), themes related to the definition, indicators, and perceptions of coordination were explored using a grounded theory approach. Data suggest the need for coordination is driven by complex client needs, but the quality of providers' personal relationships influence coordination. Future research might examine the impact of standardization of roles, referral procedures, and treatment philosophies.     

Defining Service Coordination: A Social Work Perspective

ABSTRACT

This pilot study explores the meaning of and factors that influence coordination as a first step toward conceptual refinement, theory development, and system interventions. Using data from treatment guidelines archived by the National Guideline Clearinghouse (n= 9) and semistructured interviews with social workers (n= 4), themes related to the definition, indicators, and perceptions of coordination were explored using a grounded theory approach. Data suggest the need for coordination is driven by complex client needs, but the quality of providers’ personal relationships influences coordination. Future research might examine the impact of standardization of roles, referral procedures, and treatment philosophies.     

The Need for a New Social Work Perspective in an African Setting: The Case of Social Casework in Zambia

Correspondence to Geoffrey W. Silavwe, Dean of Students Department, The Copperbelt University, P.O. Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia. Summary This article discusses traditional social casework principlesand how some of these principles are irrelevant for social caseworkpractice in an African setting or culture. The principles onwhich social casework is based involve western concepts foreignto the cultures of most developing countries. They are thereforeinappropriate for social work practice in an African settingbecause they are based on values (especially self-determinationand confidentiality) which assume concepts of individualitynot applicable in an African society, particularly in Zambia.