January 21, 2021 Congratulations to our Psychology Alumni! Baylee Jenkins (‘20 M.A. Psychology) Baylee Jenkins (‘20 M.A. Psychology) Photo Credit Jennifer Clifton Jenkins’ thesis "Testing the Forensic Confirmation Bias: How Jailhouse Informants Violate Evidentiary Independence" was recently accepted for publication at the Journal of Police and Psychology. Abstract: Research has demonstrated that primary confessions corrupt perceptions of forensic evidence, such as handwriting evidence. Additionally, research on secondary confessions indicates that statements made by jailhouse informants influence juror decision making to the same degree as primary confessions. The goal of the current study was to investigate whether jailhouse informant statements bias perceptions of forensic evidence. Participants were presented with a brief case summary about a bank robbery along with confession evidence from a jailhouse informant, in which both reliability and incentive presence were manipulated. Participants were then asked to examine a pair of either matching or mismatching handwriting samples before making case-relevant judgments. Results indicated that participants exposed to the reliable jailhouse informant were more likely to believe the samples were matching as well as rate them higher in similarity. These findings suggest that participants fell prey to the forensic confirmation bias. Dr. Danielle Franks (‘13 B.A. Psychology) Dr. Danielle Franks (‘13 B.A. Psychology) Photo Credit Austin College Joined the Department of Psychology at Austin College in Fall 2020 as an Assistant Professor. After completing her degree at UAH, she pursued graduate studies at Louisiana Tech University where she earned a M.A. in Counseling and Guidance in 2018 and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology in 2020. Dr. Frankes completed her pre-doctoral internship at Ball State University’s Counseling Center where she worked with college students from various marginalized identities from a feminist relational-cultural perspective. Dr. Frank's research interests fall under the broad umbrella of Multicultural Psychology and its intersection with Counseling Psychology. More specifically, her research examines White allyship in racial justice advocacy, counselor multicultural competence, racism and classism, and the relationship between political ideology and racial attitudes. Jared Godwin (‘18 B.A. Psychology) Jared Godwin (‘18 B.A. Psychology) Photo Credit Jared Godwin After graduation, Jared Godwin started the UAB Physician Assistant Studies program. Godwin is currently in his clinical year, serving as his cohort’s class president. He says, “I will implement my Psychology background into a couple of local clinical rotations: a Psychiatry office in Huntsville and a Neurosurgery practice at Huntsville Hospital.” Please consider sharing your Alumni Story HERE. Questions? Contact the Department of Psychology at psychology@uah.edu
