Bette L Bottoms
Biographic Data
| ID | 1247482 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bette L Bottoms |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bette L |
| FAMILY NAME | Bottoms |
| SIGNATURE | BOTTOMS B L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Illinois Chicago |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1050-9460 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 19 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Harming cats and dogs
International perspectives on procedural justice
OBJECTIVE(S): We assessed the impact of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in two countries on perceptions of everyday encounters with police, independent of officer respectfulness and participants' preexisting trust in police. HYPOTHESES: We expected BWC presence, officer respectfulness, and preexisting trust in police to all significantly improve individuals' perceptions of a police encounter. We also expected interactions indicating that BWC presence an…
Child victim empathy mediates the influence of jurors’ sexual abuse experiences on child sexual abuse case judgments
Using meta-analyses, we examined the effect of mock jurors’ own sexual abuse experiences (i.e., whether they were victimized sexually as a child or adult or knew other victims) on child sexual abuse case judgments from 9 separate studies. We also examined the relation of abuse experience to jurors’ child victim empathy, testing our theory that empathy would mediate (explain) the influence of abuse experience on case judgments. Participants were 2…
Understanding African Americans’ Attitudes toward Nonhuman Animals
Historical and current literature is reviewed and social psychological theory is applied to support novel theories about African Americans’ attitudes toward nonhuman animals. Due to psychological reactions stemming from their brutal U.S. history, involving shared suffering with animals, African Americans are theorized to have either negative or positive beliefs about animals. Two studies revealed the latter: that African Americans have positive a…
Karen Jill Saywitz (1956–2018)
Presents an obituary for Karen Jill Saywitz, who passed on March 17, 2018. Saywitz devoted her life to advancing children's mental health and children's "voice" in the legal system. She completed internship and postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and became director of child and adolescent psychology at Harbor-UCLA. She returned to the main UCLA campus as professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. I…
Understanding difference through dialogue
Research (Gurin, Nagda & Zúñiga, 2009) on Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) has primarily focused on student outcomes in traditional semester-long, three-credit courses, documenting the positive impact IGD has on college students’ (a) intergroup understanding, (b) intergroup relationships, (c) intergroup collaboration and action, and (d) perceived relevancy of diversity in higher education. The University of Illinois at Chicago First-Year Dialogue Semina…
Excusing murder? Conservative jurors’ acceptance of the gay-panic defense
We conducted a simulated trial study to investigate the effectiveness of a “gay-panic” provocation defense as a function of jurors’ political orientation. Mock jurors read about a murder case in which a male defendant claimed a victim provoked the killing by starting a fight, which either included or did not include the male victim making an unwanted sexual advance that triggered a state of panic in the defendant. Conservative jurors were signifi…
The influence of a juvenile’s abuse history on support for sex offender registration
We investigated whether and how a juvenile's history of experiencing sexual abuse affects public perceptions of juvenile sex offenders in a series of 5 studies. When asked about juvenile sex offenders in an abstract manner (Studies 1 and 2), the more participants (community members and undergraduates) believed that a history of being sexually abused as a child causes later sexually abusive behavior, the less likely they were to support sex offend…
Give the kid a break—but only if he’s straight
Two studies addressed how people punish juvenile sex offenders in ambiguous punishment contexts. Sex offender registry laws now make voluntary sexual activity between juveniles a registration-worthy offense in the U.S. Using contemporary prejudice theories as a theoretical framework, we tested whether the ambiguity surrounding the application of these laws to juveniles provides a context for expression of prejudice against gay youth. In the ambig…
Are the effects of juvenile offender stereotypes maximized or minimized by jury deliberation
Attitudinal and Individual Differences Influence Perceptions of Mock Child Sexual Assault Cases Involving Gay Defendants
Many people hold negative attitudes and stereotypes about gay men, including the stereotype that gay men are likely to be child molesters. This article explored the implications of this stereotype for judgments made in a hypothetical legal case involving child sexual abuse accusations against a male teacher by either a male or female victim. Mock jurors who held the most anti-gay attitudes and those who endorsed the stereotype of gay men as child…
Experts' and novices' abilities to detect children's high-stakes lies of omission
We investigated adults’ abilities to detect lies told by 3- to 6-year-old children. Expert forensic interviewers and novices watched videotapes of children who either lied or told the truth about their parent’s transgression, rendered a dichotomous judgment of whether the child lied, rated their confidence in that judgment, and rated the children on various characteristics. Adults detected lies with greater than chance— but not impressive—accurac…
Understanding jurors' judgments in cases involving juvenile defendants
Juveniles are at heightened risk for falsely confessing to crimes, particularly if they are intellectually disabled. We conducted a mock trial experiment to investigate the effects of a juvenile defendant’s confession and status as intellectually disabled on jurors’ decision making. As expected, jurors discounted a juvenile’s coerced confession: Jurors’ judgments were similar for a juvenile who was perceived to have confessed under coercion and a…
Attachment to God, Spiritual Coping, and Alcohol Use
We examined the effect of emotional God attachment on undergraduates ' alcohol use generally and for coping purposes and whether spiritual coping styles (collaborative, deferring, and self-directing) drive this effect. As hypothesized, people who feel secure in their emotional relationship with God use significantly more deferring, more collaborative, and less self-directing coping styles than people who feel anxious-ambivalent in their emotional…
Jurors’ discussions of a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in capital sentencing deliberations
We tested a novel theoretical model explaining the psychological processes underlying jurors’ discussions about a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in a capital case. We coded the extent to which jurors used child abuse and alcohol abuse as mitigating factors, as aggravating factors, or argued that they should be ignored. Relying on attribution theory, we coded the extent to which jurors rendered controllable or uncontrollable …
The relationship between ethnicity, Christian orthodoxy, and mental health
Although researchers have noted differences in the role of religiosity in the lives of people from different ethnic backgrounds, the components of religion's influence (i.e., membership and orthodoxy) on mental health have not been previously examined. In the current study, Christian participants’ Christian Orthodox Scale (COS) scores were used to predict scores on mental health. As hypothesized, African Americans with higher COS scores exhibited…
Recent Advances and New Challenges in Child Maltreatment Research, Practice, and Policy
Few issues are of such grave importance to society and to the science and practice of psychology as child maltreatment. Our goal in editing this issue of JSI was to inform scientists across various sub‐fields of psychology about the most current knowledge in the field of child maltreatment, broadly defined. The authors of the articles have gone further, pushing past the edge of current knowledge and setting aggressive agendas for future empirical…
In the Name of God
Religious beliefs can foster, encourage, and justify child abuse, yet religious motivations for child abuse and neglect have been virtually ignored in social science research. In this article, we examine cases of religion‐related child abuse reported to mental health professionals nationwide. In particular, we describe in statistical detail cases involving the withholding of medical care for religious reasons, abuse related to attempts to rid a c…
Children’s Testimony About a Stressful Event
Age differences in children's ability to recount a stressful event were explored, as were several ways to improve children's reports. Seventy 3- to 7 year olds were videotaped while receiving inoculations at a medical clinic. It was predicted that multiple interviews would maintain memory and strengthen resistance to sugges-tion. It was also predicted that social support would ease intimidation and thus lessen children's suggestibility. To test t…
Jurors’ discussions of a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in capital sentencing deliberations
We tested a novel theoretical model explaining the psychological processes underlying jurors’ discussions about a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in a capital case. We coded the extent to which jurors used child abuse and alcohol abuse as mitigating factors, as aggravating factors, or argued that they should be ignored. Relying on attribution theory, we coded the extent to which jurors rendered controllable or uncontrollable …
In the Name of God
Religious beliefs can foster, encourage, and justify child abuse, yet religious motivations for child abuse and neglect have been virtually ignored in social science research. In this article, we examine cases of religion‐related child abuse reported to mental health professionals nationwide. In particular, we describe in statistical detail cases involving the withholding of medical care for religious reasons, abuse related to attempts to rid a c…
Attitudinal and Individual Differences Influence Perceptions of Mock Child Sexual Assault Cases Involving Gay Defendants
Many people hold negative attitudes and stereotypes about gay men, including the stereotype that gay men are likely to be child molesters. This article explored the implications of this stereotype for judgments made in a hypothetical legal case involving child sexual abuse accusations against a male teacher by either a male or female victim. Mock jurors who held the most anti-gay attitudes and those who endorsed the stereotype of gay men as child…
Excusing murder? Conservative jurors’ acceptance of the gay-panic defense
We conducted a simulated trial study to investigate the effectiveness of a “gay-panic” provocation defense as a function of jurors’ political orientation. Mock jurors read about a murder case in which a male defendant claimed a victim provoked the killing by starting a fight, which either included or did not include the male victim making an unwanted sexual advance that triggered a state of panic in the defendant. Conservative jurors were signifi…
Give the kid a break—but only if he’s straight
Two studies addressed how people punish juvenile sex offenders in ambiguous punishment contexts. Sex offender registry laws now make voluntary sexual activity between juveniles a registration-worthy offense in the U.S. Using contemporary prejudice theories as a theoretical framework, we tested whether the ambiguity surrounding the application of these laws to juveniles provides a context for expression of prejudice against gay youth. In the ambig…
Are the effects of juvenile offender stereotypes maximized or minimized by jury deliberation
Attachment to God, Spiritual Coping, and Alcohol Use
We examined the effect of emotional God attachment on undergraduates ' alcohol use generally and for coping purposes and whether spiritual coping styles (collaborative, deferring, and self-directing) drive this effect. As hypothesized, people who feel secure in their emotional relationship with God use significantly more deferring, more collaborative, and less self-directing coping styles than people who feel anxious-ambivalent in their emotional…
Child victim empathy mediates the influence of jurors’ sexual abuse experiences on child sexual abuse case judgments
Using meta-analyses, we examined the effect of mock jurors’ own sexual abuse experiences (i.e., whether they were victimized sexually as a child or adult or knew other victims) on child sexual abuse case judgments from 9 separate studies. We also examined the relation of abuse experience to jurors’ child victim empathy, testing our theory that empathy would mediate (explain) the influence of abuse experience on case judgments. Participants were 2…
Understanding jurors' judgments in cases involving juvenile defendants
Juveniles are at heightened risk for falsely confessing to crimes, particularly if they are intellectually disabled. We conducted a mock trial experiment to investigate the effects of a juvenile defendant’s confession and status as intellectually disabled on jurors’ decision making. As expected, jurors discounted a juvenile’s coerced confession: Jurors’ judgments were similar for a juvenile who was perceived to have confessed under coercion and a…
Children’s Testimony About a Stressful Event
Age differences in children's ability to recount a stressful event were explored, as were several ways to improve children's reports. Seventy 3- to 7 year olds were videotaped while receiving inoculations at a medical clinic. It was predicted that multiple interviews would maintain memory and strengthen resistance to sugges-tion. It was also predicted that social support would ease intimidation and thus lessen children's suggestibility. To test t…
In the Name of God
Religious beliefs can foster, encourage, and justify child abuse, yet religious motivations for child abuse and neglect have been virtually ignored in social science research. In this article, we examine cases of religion‐related child abuse reported to mental health professionals nationwide. In particular, we describe in statistical detail cases involving the withholding of medical care for religious reasons, abuse related to attempts to rid a c…
Recent Advances and New Challenges in Child Maltreatment Research, Practice, and Policy
Few issues are of such grave importance to society and to the science and practice of psychology as child maltreatment. Our goal in editing this issue of JSI was to inform scientists across various sub‐fields of psychology about the most current knowledge in the field of child maltreatment, broadly defined. The authors of the articles have gone further, pushing past the edge of current knowledge and setting aggressive agendas for future empirical…
The relationship between ethnicity, Christian orthodoxy, and mental health
Although researchers have noted differences in the role of religiosity in the lives of people from different ethnic backgrounds, the components of religion's influence (i.e., membership and orthodoxy) on mental health have not been previously examined. In the current study, Christian participants’ Christian Orthodox Scale (COS) scores were used to predict scores on mental health. As hypothesized, African Americans with higher COS scores exhibited…
Attachment to God, Spiritual Coping, and Alcohol Use
We examined the effect of emotional God attachment on undergraduates ' alcohol use generally and for coping purposes and whether spiritual coping styles (collaborative, deferring, and self-directing) drive this effect. As hypothesized, people who feel secure in their emotional relationship with God use significantly more deferring, more collaborative, and less self-directing coping styles than people who feel anxious-ambivalent in their emotional…
Jurors’ discussions of a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in capital sentencing deliberations
We tested a novel theoretical model explaining the psychological processes underlying jurors’ discussions about a defendant’s history of child abuse and alcohol abuse in a capital case. We coded the extent to which jurors used child abuse and alcohol abuse as mitigating factors, as aggravating factors, or argued that they should be ignored. Relying on attribution theory, we coded the extent to which jurors rendered controllable or uncontrollable …
Experts' and novices' abilities to detect children's high-stakes lies of omission
We investigated adults’ abilities to detect lies told by 3- to 6-year-old children. Expert forensic interviewers and novices watched videotapes of children who either lied or told the truth about their parent’s transgression, rendered a dichotomous judgment of whether the child lied, rated their confidence in that judgment, and rated the children on various characteristics. Adults detected lies with greater than chance— but not impressive—accurac…
Understanding jurors' judgments in cases involving juvenile defendants
Juveniles are at heightened risk for falsely confessing to crimes, particularly if they are intellectually disabled. We conducted a mock trial experiment to investigate the effects of a juvenile defendant’s confession and status as intellectually disabled on jurors’ decision making. As expected, jurors discounted a juvenile’s coerced confession: Jurors’ judgments were similar for a juvenile who was perceived to have confessed under coercion and a…
Are the effects of juvenile offender stereotypes maximized or minimized by jury deliberation
Attitudinal and Individual Differences Influence Perceptions of Mock Child Sexual Assault Cases Involving Gay Defendants
Many people hold negative attitudes and stereotypes about gay men, including the stereotype that gay men are likely to be child molesters. This article explored the implications of this stereotype for judgments made in a hypothetical legal case involving child sexual abuse accusations against a male teacher by either a male or female victim. Mock jurors who held the most anti-gay attitudes and those who endorsed the stereotype of gay men as child…
The influence of a juvenile’s abuse history on support for sex offender registration
We investigated whether and how a juvenile's history of experiencing sexual abuse affects public perceptions of juvenile sex offenders in a series of 5 studies. When asked about juvenile sex offenders in an abstract manner (Studies 1 and 2), the more participants (community members and undergraduates) believed that a history of being sexually abused as a child causes later sexually abusive behavior, the less likely they were to support sex offend…
Give the kid a break—but only if he’s straight
Two studies addressed how people punish juvenile sex offenders in ambiguous punishment contexts. Sex offender registry laws now make voluntary sexual activity between juveniles a registration-worthy offense in the U.S. Using contemporary prejudice theories as a theoretical framework, we tested whether the ambiguity surrounding the application of these laws to juveniles provides a context for expression of prejudice against gay youth. In the ambig…
Understanding difference through dialogue
Research (Gurin, Nagda & Zúñiga, 2009) on Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) has primarily focused on student outcomes in traditional semester-long, three-credit courses, documenting the positive impact IGD has on college students’ (a) intergroup understanding, (b) intergroup relationships, (c) intergroup collaboration and action, and (d) perceived relevancy of diversity in higher education. The University of Illinois at Chicago First-Year Dialogue Semina…
Excusing murder? Conservative jurors’ acceptance of the gay-panic defense
We conducted a simulated trial study to investigate the effectiveness of a “gay-panic” provocation defense as a function of jurors’ political orientation. Mock jurors read about a murder case in which a male defendant claimed a victim provoked the killing by starting a fight, which either included or did not include the male victim making an unwanted sexual advance that triggered a state of panic in the defendant. Conservative jurors were signifi…
Karen Jill Saywitz (1956–2018)
Presents an obituary for Karen Jill Saywitz, who passed on March 17, 2018. Saywitz devoted her life to advancing children's mental health and children's "voice" in the legal system. She completed internship and postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and became director of child and adolescent psychology at Harbor-UCLA. She returned to the main UCLA campus as professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. I…
Child victim empathy mediates the influence of jurors’ sexual abuse experiences on child sexual abuse case judgments
Using meta-analyses, we examined the effect of mock jurors’ own sexual abuse experiences (i.e., whether they were victimized sexually as a child or adult or knew other victims) on child sexual abuse case judgments from 9 separate studies. We also examined the relation of abuse experience to jurors’ child victim empathy, testing our theory that empathy would mediate (explain) the influence of abuse experience on case judgments. Participants were 2…
Understanding African Americans’ Attitudes toward Nonhuman Animals
Historical and current literature is reviewed and social psychological theory is applied to support novel theories about African Americans’ attitudes toward nonhuman animals. Due to psychological reactions stemming from their brutal U.S. history, involving shared suffering with animals, African Americans are theorized to have either negative or positive beliefs about animals. Two studies revealed the latter: that African Americans have positive a…
International perspectives on procedural justice
OBJECTIVE(S): We assessed the impact of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in two countries on perceptions of everyday encounters with police, independent of officer respectfulness and participants' preexisting trust in police. HYPOTHESES: We expected BWC presence, officer respectfulness, and preexisting trust in police to all significantly improve individuals' perceptions of a police encounter. We also expected interactions indicating that BWC presence an…
Harming cats and dogs
Psychology (19 works) · Social Psychology (14 works) · Criminology (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Clinical Psychology (6 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Psychiatry (6 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (5 works)