Television shows, such as CBS's CSI and its spin-offs CSI: Miami; CSI: Las Vegas; and CSI: New York, have sparked the imagination of thousands of viewers who want to become forensic scientists. The shows' fictional portrayals of crime scene investigations have prompted fears that jurors will demand DNA and other forensic evidence before they will convict, and have unrealistic expectations of that evidence. This has been dubbed the "CSI effect." This phenomenon was explored using results from a Canadian study based on 605 surveys of Canadian college students who would be considered jury-eligible and Australian quantitative and qualitative findings from a study that surveyed and interviewed real posttrial jurors. Information about the way jurors deal with forensic evidence in the context of other evidence and feedback about the way in which understanding such evidence could be increased were gained from both these studies. The comparison provides insights into the knowledge base of jurors, permitting adaptation of methods of presenting forensic information by lawyers and experts in court, based on evidence rather than folklore. While the Canadian juror data showed statistically significant findings that jurors are clearly influenced in their treatment of some forensic evidence by their television-viewing habits, reassuringly, no support was found in either study for the operation of a detrimental CSI effect as defined above. In the Australian study, in fact, support was found for the proposition that jurors assess forensic evidence in a balanced and thoughtful manner.

No abstract

Individuals ( N = 109) with biopsy-proven celiac disease completed a survey exploring their perceptions of their illness’s impact on their romantic relationships. Whether they met their partners before or after diagnosis, participants perceived the disease to bear modest impact on their relationships with more pronounced positive effects than negative effects. Moreover, controlling for attachment anxiety and avoidance and relationship quality, neither perceptions of the disease’s broader effects on their lives nor perceptions of their partner’s responsiveness consistently predicted their appraisals of its effects on their relationships. Our findings suggest that affected individuals’ appraisals of the disease’s impact on their romantic relationships may be shaped in part by attachment anxiety and relationship quality.

No abstract