The Pros and Cons of the Learned Helplessness Construct and the Battered Woman Syndrome: a Critical Analysis and Possible Reformulation
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Battered Woman's Syndrome: Setting a Standard in Florida
Nova Law Review Volume 31, Issue 2 2007 Article 11 Battered Woman’s Syndrome: Setting a Standard in Florida Sara M. Sandler∗ ∗ Copyright c 2007 by the authors. Nova Law Review is produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress). https://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlr Sandler: Battered Woman's Syndrome: Setting a Standard in Florida BATTERED WOMAN'S SYNDROME: SETTING A STANDARD IN FLORIDA SARA M. SANDLER* I. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................375 II. DEFINING BATTERED WOMAN'S SYNDROME ............................... 379 A . LearnedH elplessness........................................................ 379 B. Cycle Theory of Violence .................................................. 381 III. A HISTORY OF BATTERED WOMAN'S SYNDROME IN THE COURTS 382 A. ImpairedM ental Capacity ............................................... 383 B. As Partof a Self-Defense Argument .................................. 384 1. Defining "Imminent" ........................... 385 2. "Imminent" to the Battered Woman ..................... 386 IV. FLORIDA COURTS AND BATTERED WOMAN'S SYNDROME ........... 387 A. Floridaon Expert Testimony ............................................ 387 B. Floridaon the Duty to Retreat: Weiand v. State ............. 393 V. HOW TO DETERMINE A BATTERED WOMAN'S DEFENSE: A THREE- PRON G ED T EST ...............................................................................395 A . Length of A buse ................................................................. 396 B . Severity ofA buse .............................................................. -
Constitutional Dimensions of the Battered Woman Syndrome
OHIO STATE LAW JOURNAL Volume 53, Number 2, 1992 Constitutional Dimensions of the Battered Woman Syndrome ERICH D. ANDERSEN* AND ANNE READ-ANDERSEN** The exclusion of expert witness testimony on the battered woman syndrome ("syndrome") m a criminal trial often raises both evidentiary and constitutional issues for appeal.' Defendants typically offer testimony on the syndrome to prove that they acted m self-defense when they killed or wounded their mates.2 If the trial court excludes the testimony for lack of foundation or because it is irrelevant, for instance, this exclusion creates a potential evidentiary issue for appeal. 3 The same ruling may also raise a constitutional question because the accused has a constitutional right to present a defense.4 The right to present a defense is implicated when the trial court excludes evidence that is favorable and material to the defense.5 Scholars have been attentive to the evidentiary problems associated with excluding testimony on the syndrome. Over the past decade, many commentators have considered whether, and if so when, expert testimony should be admitted to support a battered woman's assertion of self-defense.6 * Associate, Davis Wright Tremame, Seattle, Washington; B.A. 1986, J.D., 1989, Umversity of California, Los Angeles. **Associate, Preston, Thorgrmson, Shidler, Gates & Ellis, Seattle, Washington; B.A. 1986, College of the Holy Cross; J.D., 1989, Umversity of Michigan. This Article is dedicated to our parents: Margaret and David Read and Lotte and David Andersen. Without their love and guidance, this Article would not have been possible. We also thank Joseph Kearney and John Mamer for their valuable editing help. -
The Battered Woman Acog: Technical Bulletin Number 124—January 1989
The Battered Woman acog: technical bulletin Number 124—January 1989 Definition Domestic violence and spouse abuse are terms referring to violence occurring between partners in an ongoing relationship, regardless of whether they are married (1). A battered woman has been defined as any woman over the age of 16 with evidence of physical abuse on at least one occasion at the hands of an intimate male partner (2). The battered wife syndrome has been defined as a symptom complex occurring as a result of violence in which a woman has at any time received deliberate, severe, and repeated (more than three times) physical abuse from her husband, with the minimal injury of severe bruising (3). Richwald and McCluskey have categorized violent acts from the least to the most severe, from verbal abuse, threat of violence, throwing an object, throwing an object at someone, pushing, slapping, kicking, hitting, beating up, threatening with a weapon, and use of a weapon. Most definitions also incorporate concepts of intentionality and the repetitive nature of the assaults (4). It can be seen from these definitions that violence is viewed most often as physical abuse. In most violent relationships, however, mental abuse and intimidation are an integral component of the abuse syndrome. Regardless of how it is defined or the form it takes, abuse represents a significant clinical problem that warrants further evaluation. In 1985, the Surgeon General of the United States sponsored a workshop on violence and public health in an effort to focus attention on this and similar problems, in the hope of helping to reduce the incidence of violence in society and providing more effective help for its victims (5). -
Battered Woman Syndrome
Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons Faculty Publications 1993 Battered Woman Syndrome Paul C. Giannelli Case Western University School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications Part of the Criminal Law Commons Repository Citation Giannelli, Paul C., "Battered Woman Syndrome" (1993). Faculty Publications. 312. https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/312 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. KFO 578 I .All5 P82 q, c.l If(~), Vol. 16, No. 1 Winter 1993 BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME Paul C. Giannelli Albert J. Weatherhead Ill & Richard IN. Weatherhead Professor of Law, Case Western ReseNe University The battered woman syndrome (BWS) describes a phase, in which most injuries occur, the battering is out of pattern of violence inflicted on a woman by her mate. In control. Psychological abuse in the form of threats of 1979, Dr. Lenore Walker, one of the principal researchers future harm is also prevalent. in this field, published her seminal text, The Battered The third phase is a calm, loving period during which Woman. She described a battered woman as follows: the batterer is contrite, seeks forgiveness, and promises A battered woman is a woman who is repeatedly to refrain from future violence. This phase provides a subjected to any forceful physical or psychological positive reinforcement for the woman to continue the 1,, behavior by a man in order to coerce her to do some relationship in the hope that the violent behavior will not thing he wants her to do without any concern for her recur. -
Learned Helplessness: Theory and Evidence
\, Journal ol Experimental Psychology: General 1976, Vol. 105, No. 1, 3-46 Learned Helplessness: Theory and Evidence Steven F. Maier Martin E. P. Seligman University of Colorado University of Pennsylvania SUMMARY In 1967, Overmier and Seligman found that dogs exposed to inescapable and unavoidable electric shocks in one situation later failed to learn to escape shock in a different situation where escape was possible. Shortly thereafter Seligman and Maier (1967) demonstrated that this effect was caused by the uncontrollability of the original shocks. In this article we review the effects of exposing organisms to aversive events which they cannot control, and we review the explanations which have been offered. There seem to be motivational, cognitive, and emotional effects of uncontrol- lability. (a) Motivation. Dogs that have been exposed to inescapable shocks do not subsequently initiate escape response in the presence of shock. We review parallel phenomena in cats, fish, rats, and man. Of particular interest is the discussion of learned helplessness in rats and man. Rats are of interest because learned helplessness has been difficult to demonstrate in rats. However, we show that inescapably shocked rats do fail to learn to escape if the escape task is rea- sonably difficult. With regard to man, we review a variety of studies using in- escapable noise and unsolvable problems as agents which produce learned helpless- ness effects on both instrumental and cognitive tasks, (b) Cognition. We argue that exposure to uncontrollable events interferes with the organism's tendency to perceive contingent relationships between its behavior and outcomes. Here we review a variety of studies showing such a cognitive set. -
Battered Women, Self-Defense, and the Law
TRANSCRIPT BATTERED WOMEN, SELF-DEFENSE, AND THE LAW MODERATOR Matthew Termine Fordham Law Review PANELISTS Professor Holly Maguigan New York University Law School Professor Joshua Dressler Fordham University School of Law MATTHEW TERMINE: I would like to welcome everyone to the first- ever event hosted by Res Gestae, Fordham Law Review’s Online Companion. My name is Matt Termine, and I’m Volume 79’s Online Editor. I’m honored to introduce Professors Holly Maguigan and Joshua Dressler. Professor Maguigan is Professor of Clinical Law at New York University Law School. She teaches a criminal defense clinic and one in comparative criminal justice, as well as a seminar in global public service lawyering and a course in evidence. She is an expert on the criminal trials of battered women. Professor Joshua Dressler is Bacon-Kilkenny Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Fordham University Law School. He holds the Frank R. Strong Chair in Law at The Ohio State University’s Michael E. Moritz College of Law. Professor Dressler is one of the country’s most respected authorities on the subjects of criminal law and criminal procedure. Today’s discussion will provide an opportunity for two experts in this field to discuss doctrinal treatment of battered women defense cases. The discussion will focus on whether and when we should justify or excuse battering victims when they go beyond what is accounted for in Model Penal Code and common law self-defense doctrine. 1 2 FORDHAM LAW REVIEW RES GESTAE [Vol. 79 Four fact patterns will be used to structure the discussion, but the professors are free to let the discussion flow beyond the four scenarios. -
Battered Woman Syndrome: Institutionalization of Negative Stereotypes About Women
UCLA UCLA Women's Law Journal Title Current Use of Battered Woman Syndrome: Institutionalization of Negative Stereotypes about Women Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/73t5x0m5 Journal UCLA Women's Law Journal, 8(1) Author Cornia, Rebecca D. Publication Date 1997 DOI 10.5070/L381017687 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California ESSAY CURRENT USE OF BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME: INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES ABOUT WOMEN Rebecca D. Cornia* ABSTRACT In this Essay, Rebecca Cornia examines how courts currently use Battered Woman Syndrome ("BWS") to explain why soci- ety should excuse women who behave irrationally. Cornia compares BWS to the Marital Coercion Doctrine, a Nine- teenth Century defense that excused women who committed crimes at the direction of their husbands. Cornia traces courts' use of BWS to excuse the criminal acts of women acting under duress from their batterers and to impeach women testifying on behalf of their abusers in domestic violence cases. Cornia analyzes the current use of BWS, which she asserts stereotypes women as irrational, leading to their detriment in other legal proceedings including: child custody battles, child abuse cases, and bar disciplinary proceedings. Cornia explains that the trend in the courts to use BWS in such a wide variety of cases portrays women as irrational and therefore undermines the position of women in society as a whole. She argues that the BWS defense should be reconstructed or replaced altogether. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ..................................... 100 II. OVERVIEW OF BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME .... 101 * Rebecca Dao Cornia graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986. -
The Battered Woman Syndrome, Self-Defense, and Expert
The Skeleton in the Closet: The Battered Woman Syndrome, Self Defense, and Expert Testimony by Victoria Mikesell Mather* I. INTRODUCTION The common practice of wife beating is a 'skeleton in the closet' of many families today. 1 In recent years, however, the public has focused much attention on the phenomenon of the battered woman, bringing the battering relationship and its consequences to the forefront of American social consciousness. The numbers are staggering: FBI statistics show that a husband or boyfriend beats a woman in the United States approxi mately every eighteen seconds; 2 other sources estimate that somewhere between two and six million women will be beaten by their mates each year; 3 and experts believe that between one-half and two-thirds of all marriages will experience at least one battering incident during the rela tionship.• The figures are somewhat speculative since wife beating is still • Assistant Professor of Law, St. Mary's University School of Law. University of Illinois (B.S., 1978; J.D., 1981; LL.M., 1987). The author extends special thanks to her research assistant, Peter Goebel, for his careful and patient work. 1. The author uses the terms wife and woman interchangeably in this Article because many female victims of battering are not married to their abusers, but live with them. 2. A wide range of such statistics are cited in Moore, Editor's Introduction, in BATTERED WOMEN 7, 13-14 (D. Moore ed. 1979), in J. FLEMING, STOPPING WIFE ABUSE 330-32 (1979), and in D. MARTIN, BATTERED WIVES 11 -14 (1976). 3. Waits, The Criminal Justice System's Response to Battering: Understanding the Problem, Forging the Solutions, 60 WASH. -
Using Learned Helplessness to Understand the Effects Of
Buffalo Law Review Volume 64 Number 2 Article 5 4-1-2016 Using Learned Helplessness to Understand the Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder on Refugees and Explain Why These Disorders Should Qualify as Extraordinary Circumstances Excusing Untimely Asylum Applications Brandon R. White University at Buffalo School of Law (Student) Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview Part of the Immigration Law Commons Recommended Citation Brandon R. White, Using Learned Helplessness to Understand the Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder on Refugees and Explain Why These Disorders Should Qualify as Extraordinary Circumstances Excusing Untimely Asylum Applications, 64 Buff. L. Rev. 413 (2016). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview/vol64/iss2/5 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Buffalo Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMMENT Using Learned Helplessness to Understand the Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder on Refugees and Explain Why These Disorders Should Qualify as Extraordinary Circumstances Excusing Untimely Asylum Applications BRANDON R. WHITE† INTRODUCTION Imagine you are a refugee. For some personal reason outside of your control, say your race or religion, you are targeted by others and suffer some harm. This harm almost certainly involves some level of violence. Perhaps you are beaten, raped, or tortured. Maybe you watched your family and friends suffer the same, maybe some of these family and friends were murdered in front of your eyes. -
Mood and Self-Regulation Changes in Underrecovery: an Intervention Model
Davis, H., Botterill, C., & MacNeill, K. (2002). Mood and self-regulation changes in underrecovery: An intervention model. In M. Kellmann (Ed.), Enhancing recovery: Preventing underperformance in athletes (pp. 161-179). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 9 Mood and Self-Regulation Changes in Underrecovery: An Intervention Model Henry Davis IV, Cal Botterill, and Karen MacNeill Vince Lombardi (as cited in Maraniss, 1999, p. havioral components. This chapter identifies em- 217) is quoted as having said in 1959, “Fatigue pirical research that serves as the scientific base makes cowards of us all.” Did Lombardi know for the responsible intervention in UR; case ex- about underrecovery back then? The athlete in amples follow. We begin by elaborating on the high-intensity training provides a wonderful ex- concept of empirically supported treatment as it ample for the elucidation of psychological factors applies to intervention in UR. that can adversely affect performance when the Our position on cause and effect is that poor self- athlete is underrecovered. Lombardi knew well regulation and low mood may sometimes result in that fatigue can trigger many emotions. During poor athletic performance and prolong inadequate training camps high-performance athletes incur recovery; at other times, these factors may directly training loads that surpass general training lev- result from inadequate recovery. Recovery occurs els; this high-intensity training compromises physi- at physical, psychological, and social levels. We ological recovery and can bring a deterioration of therefore propose continuous two-way interactions mood (Kellmann & Kallus, 1999). Such loads de- between psychological and physiological states. mand physical and psychological adaptive re- sponses to restore homeostasis as described in chapter 1 of this volume. -
Bullying and Peer Victimization
JIVXXX10.1177/0886260515572476Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceRadliff et al. 572476research-article2015 Article Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2016, Vol. 31(11) 1983 –2005 Bullying and Peer © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: Victimization: An sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0886260515572476 Examination of Cognitive jiv.sagepub.com and Psychosocial Constructs Kisha M. Radliff, PhD,1 Cixin Wang, PhD,2 and Susan M. Swearer, PhD3 Abstract Research has demonstrated a link between internalizing factors and bullying perpetration and peer victimization; however, few studies have examined predictors of cognitive and psychosocial factors, such as locus of control and hopelessness. The current study examined cognitive and psychosocial factors in bullying perpetration and peer victimization in a sample of 469 middle school students. A mediator model of hopelessness was also investigated. Students involved in bullying reported a greater external locus of control compared with peers who were not involved in bullying. Bully- victims endorsed the highest externality. Results showed that hopelessness fully mediated the relationship between verbal/relational victimization and external locus of control for the victim group, but not the bully-victim group. Implications for bullying prevention and intervention efforts are discussed. Keywords bullying, hopelessness, locus of control, children, adolescents 1The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA 2University of California, Riverside, CA, USA 3University of Nebraska–Lincoln, NE, USA Corresponding Author: Kisha M. Radliff, Assistant Professor of School Psychology, The Ohio State University, PAES Bldg. Rm. 436, 305 W. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. Email: [email protected] 1984 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 31(11) Within the last few decades, bullying among school-aged youth has increas- ingly been recognized as an important problem in schools and presents in many forms (i.e., physical, verbal, relational, and cyber). -
Battered Women Syndrome: a Headache for Medicine and Law
Psychology, 2021, 12, 843-871 https://www.scirp.org/journal/psych ISSN Online: 2152-7199 ISSN Print: 2152-7180 Battered Women Syndrome: A Headache for Medicine and Law Vito Zepinic PsychClinic P/L, London, UK How to cite this paper: Zepinic, V. (2021). Abstract Battered Women Syndrome: A Headache for Medicine and Law. Psychology, 12, 843- In many respects, the term battered women syndrome is an unfortunate no- 871. menclature used in relation to a woman’s prolonged and repeated exposure to https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2021.126052 domestic violence (often involves sexual humiliation). Unlike a single trau- Received: May 13, 2021 matic event, prolonged and/or repeated exposure to trauma may result in the Accepted: June 18, 2021 development of a complex trauma syndrome (Zepinic, 2017). Many battered Published: June 21, 2021 women report total physical and psychological dominance by the abuser and many being coerced into immoral and humiliating sexual practices. Most of Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and the victims of domestic terror involve the sacrifice of children—the battered Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative woman will report that, in relationship with the abuse, she did not care about Commons Attribution International herself but has been concerned about her children. In the courtroom, there is License (CC BY 4.0). often evidence that the perpetrator also abused children even threatening the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ woman that he is going to kill them if she reports to anyone violence and tor- Open Access ture, or if a battered woman attempts to leave the abuser.