Judith Platania
Department of Psychology
Roger Williams University
One Old Ferry Road
Bristol, RI 02809
401.254.5738
Education
Ph.D. 1995 Florida International University
Applied Psychology: Area of Specialization – Psychology and Law
M.S. 1993 Florida International University
B.A. 1986 Marist College, cum laude
Psychology
Academic Positions
August 2007 – present Associate Professor of Psychology
Roger Williams University
2005 – 2007 Assistant Professor of Psychology
Roger Williams University
Research Interests
My research focuses on the role of legal and extra-legal factors presented during the sentencing phase of capital trials. Specifically, this research examines the respective roles of improper prosecutor argument, and non-statutory aggravating and mitigating evidence on jurors’ sentencing recommendations. I am also interested in the role of cognitive dissonance on how death-qualified jurors perceive aggravating and mitigating circumstances. A final area of interest examines the relation between comprehensibility of capital sentencing instructions and national literacy data.
Recent Publications and Presentations (Students in Bold)
Paiva, M., Berman, G. L., Cutler, B. L., Platania, J., & Weipert, R. (in press). Influence of confidence inflation and explanation for changes in confidence on evaluations of eyewitness identification accuracy. Legal and Criminological Psychology.
Platania, J., & Small R. (in press). Instructions as a safeguard against prosecutorial misconduct. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice.
Andrade, G., & Platania, J. (2009). Grading changes after a writing faculty workshop. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 13(1), 170-174.
McIntyre, K., & Platania, J. (2009). Giving in to group pressure: The impact of socialization and risk on perceived outcomes. [Electronic version]. Current Research in Social Psychology, 15(2), 15-32. http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp.html
Moffa, M., & Platania, J. (2009). The differential importance of the evidence and the expert on perceptions of confessions. The Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 9, 280-298.
Moffa, M., & Platania, J. (2008). From obsession to confession: A false confession paradigm in the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey. [Electronic version]. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 4(2), 228-242. http://www.apcj.org/journal/index.php?mode=old&vol=4&issue=2
Platania, J. (2008). Prosecutorial misconduct. In B. L. Cutler (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Moffa, M., & Platania, J. (2007). Effects of expert testimony and interrogation tactics on perceptions of confessions. Psychological Reports, 100, 563-570.
Platania, J., & Tarner, N. L. (2007). Research methods: Assessing summer vs. semester. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 11(3), 88-93.
Zaitchik, M. C., Berman, G. B., Whitworth, D., & Platania, J. (2007). The time is now: The emerging need for master’s-level training in forensic psychology. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 7(2), 65-71.
Platania, J., & Berman, G. L. (2006). The moderating effect of judge's instructions on victim impact testimony in capital cases. [Electronic version]. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice 2(2), 84-101. http://www.apcj.org/journal/index.php?mode=view&item=12
Conference Presentations (Alphabetical by Year)
Bellino, J., Platania, J., & Tarner, N. (2010, May). The role of preliminary instructions on venirepersons ability to follow the law. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Psychological Science, Boston, MA.
Cordio, R. S., & Platania, J. (2010, May). Anxiety appraisals as a function of exposure to a traumatic media presentation. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Psychological Science, Boston, MA.
Werth, P., & Platania, J. (2010, May). Anchoring as a heuristic in the context of a civil trial. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Psychological Science, Boston, MA.
Vadnais, N., & Platania, J. (2010, May). Specific misinformation effects on eyewitness suggestibility. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Psychological Science, Boston, MA.
Platania, J., Magnotti, A., Serpa, A., & Small, R. (2010, March). Misusing mitigation: The role of comparative value arguments in the context of misconduct. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Vancouver, BC.
Serpa, A., Small, R., & Platania, J. (2010, March). Expert testimony, interrogation tactics, and vulnerable populations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Vancouver, BC.
Zaitchik, M., & Platania, J. (2010, March). The complexity of NGRI: Judgments as a function of attribution and context. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Vancouver, BC.
Fusco, S., & Platania, J. (2009, March). Understanding perceptions of hypnotically refreshed memories in a sexual abuse case. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, San Antonio, TX.
Gamache, K., Zaitchik, M. J., & Platania, J. (2009, August). The effects of risk testimony on perceptions of dangerousness in a sexual predator case. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Ontario.
Platania, J., & Freeland, B. (2009, August). Malingering, personal responsibility, and perceptions of a traumatic brain injury. Poster accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Ontario.
Rowback, J., Small, R., & Platania, J. (2009, March). The role of individual difference characteristics in the acceptability of prosecutorial misconduct. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, San Antonio, TX.
Freeland, B., & Platania, J. (2008, May). Compensatory damages as a function of malingering, pain and suffering, and personal responsibility. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Psychological Science, Chicago, IL.
McIntyre, K., & Platania, J. (2008, May). Expected norms and perceived group influence: The impact of socialization and risk. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL.
Rowback, J., & Platania, J. (2008, May). The interacting effects of death-qualification and perceptions of confessions. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL.
Moffa, M. & Platania, J. (2008, March). The role of the clinical expert and the predictive ability of the CSI scale. Paper accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Jacksonville, FL.
Platania, J., Cutler, B. L., & McIntyre, K. (2008, March). Comprehensibility of capital sentencing instructions: The need to improve guided discretion. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Jacksonville, FL.
Platania, J., Small, R., Fusco, S., Miller, M., & Perrault, R. (2008, August). Examining legal safeguards against prosecutorial misconduct in capital sentencing proceedings. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
Teaching
Undergraduate Courses Graduate Courses
Research Methods Research Design
Psychological Testing Quantitative Methods I & II
Quantitative Analysis
Experimental Psychology
Human Behavior in Perspective