To learn whether the problem of misunderstanding in brand names might be caused by the content of advertisements or whether it stemmed from a failure in the exposure-processing chain with respect to the effect of the ads on consumers, a study investigated the extent to which marketers provide information in their advertising that clarifies the…

Describes the "vox pops" method, in which students respond to conflicting news media reports on identical issues and, thus, learn that watching television and reading newspapers require critical attention. (ARH)

Describes subjective-contour illusions and gives explanations for perception of shape and brightness in these figures. Supports cognitive mechanisms rather than psychological mechanisms. Gives examples of subjective-contour illusions and summarizes explanations of other psychologists with regard to this topic. (CW)

GAO investigations revealed the relative ease with which a diploma mill can be created and bogus degrees obtained. Records obtained obtained from schools and agencies likely understate the extent to which the federal government has paid for degrees from diploma mills and other unaccredited schools. Many agencies have difficulty in providing…

Takes issue with the findings of T. Levine, and S. McCornack, which suggest that behavioral adaption explanation (BAE) cannot account for the probing effect, the effect that sources interrogatively probed appear more honest to message recipients than nonprobed sources. (TB)

Responds to David Buller's defense of Behavioral Adaption Explanation (BAE), which was, in turn, written in response to the authors' critical analysis of BAE as an explanation for the probing effect. (TB)

Examined children's ability to distinguish between reality and misleading appearance. Used a standard appearance-reality task and either a trick task or a reduced information processing task. Found that subjects could grasp the distinction when their goal was to trick someone or when they did not need to hold conflicting object identities at the…

A study of three students (ages 9-14) with autism investigated whether deficits in deceptive play skills are general to all persons with autism and if these deficits can be overcome through repetitive reinforcement techniques. Results found the students could learn to deceive, even without formal intensive training. (Author/CR)

Tested E. E. Sweetser's (1987) model of lying, which emphasizes critical contribution of social factors to definitions of lie. Presented vignettes to 12-, 16-, and 19-year olds--half with prototypic lie-telling, half with truth-telling--and asked them to indicate degree of agreement that statement was a lie. Found that effects of age, help-harm…

Investigates whether social perceivers who have been trained to detect deception from behavioral cues are more accurate in judging social actors' veracity than untrained social perceivers. Finds that such training enhances social perceivers' detection deception accuracy, particularly for males judging trained communicator/deceivers. (SR)

This editorial introduces two articles on Munchausen by Proxy syndrome (the induction of an appearance or state of physical ill health in a child, by the caretaker, and the child's subsequent presentation to health professionals for diagnosis and/or treatment). The severity of the caretaker's psychological disturbance and the serious effects on…

Examines the contributions that participants in studies employing deception can make to the development of standards for research with human participants. The paper discusses enhancing the protection of human subjects and illustrates the value of cost benefits and participant-investigator partnerships on the basis of three published studies that…

Two biographies of Sir Cyril Burt argue the case of Britain's most famous psychologist, accused of academic fraud relating to his studies of IQ and heredity. The verdict is unclear, but lessons abound for social science researchers, students, universities, and investigators of research fraud. Contains 62 references. (SV)

Finds that (1) under certain conditions, females (uninvolved third-party observers) appear to be more sensitive to relational deception than males and report more negative attitudes and perceptions of the deceiver's character, competence, and sociability; and (2) the consequence for the target impacted both observer attitude toward the specific…

Many educators advocate praise as a reward for good student behavior. However, praise has little value when perceived as an evaluation or an undeserved compliment. Rather than spontaneously punctuating each student's actions with accolades, educators should become more informed about praise and more selective in its use. (MLH)