Forensic mental health reports (FMHRs) serve to inform the court whether a mental disorder was present at the time of the offense, whether this disorder affected the defendant’s behavior at the... Show moreForensic mental health reports (FMHRs) serve to inform the court whether a mental disorder was present at the time of the offense, whether this disorder affected the defendant’s behavior at the time of the offense, how this disorder may affect future behavior, and to advise on possible treatment measures. An FMHR has an important function in the court’s decisions about criminal responsibility and sentencing, but is irrelevant for decisions about guilt. We currently know very little about how FMHRs are used in these decisions. This dissertation applied quantitative and qualitative research methods to study the use and effects of FMHRs in judicial decisions about guilt and sentencing in the Netherlands. Experimental vignette studies among students showed that presence of an FMHR unwarrantedly increases the likelihood of a guilty verdict. Judges indicated that they did not recognize this in practice, but could not rule out such an effect either. Cooperation with the evaluation, type of disorder, advice on criminal responsibility and risk were relevant in decisions about sentencing. As such, sentencing decisions regarding a mentally disordered defendant remain complicated. This dissertation provides a first insight into the role of FMHRs in judicial decisions in the Netherlands, and generates avenues for further research. Show less
Article 162(2) of Book 6 of the Dutch Civil Code sets out the central concept of non-contractual liability law by providing a definition of what is deemed a tortious act. The list of different... Show moreArticle 162(2) of Book 6 of the Dutch Civil Code sets out the central concept of non-contractual liability law by providing a definition of what is deemed a tortious act. The list of different types of tortious acts concludes with the qualification: ‘except for the presence of a ground of justification’. Thus, the door to the exception to the core of non-contractual liability law has been left wide open. A fascination for this ‘escape’ incorporated in Dutch liability law was one of the motives for this dissertation. This study set out on a journey of discovery through the full breadth of non-contractual liability law, constantly viewed from the perspective of the exception to the rule. The first part of the dissertation is a general exploration of the area of research. The different types of torts are described, the concepts of justification and grounds of justification are defined and the distinction between the grounds of exculpation is provided, and a comparision with criminal law is made. The second part of the study classifies the subject matter. For this purpose, the different types of justifications are defined and divided into categories: complete, incomplete and conditional justifications. The third part of the dissertation is devoted to the principles of justification: culpa in causa and proportionality and subsidiarity. The focus of the book then shifts to the content of the justification. To that end, in the fourth part of the book justification is considered in light of wrongfulness, guilt and relativity. The fifth and final part of the dissertation deals with the legal effects of the presence of a justification: the impact on the judgements of the act and of the obligation to compensate. Show less
This thesis examined the extent to which relationships between emotional experiences and aggressive behaviours in adolescents are affected by culture. While existing studies often compare... Show moreThis thesis examined the extent to which relationships between emotional experiences and aggressive behaviours in adolescents are affected by culture. While existing studies often compare individuals from different countries to study cultural influences, this thesis also took a between-country approach by comparing Dutch and Malaysian adolescents; groups that reflect individualistic and collectivistic cultures, respectively. Also, the effect of individualistic and collectivistic values at an individual level was examined. First, the outcomes show that many relationships were culturally universal. Regardless of country or cultural orientation, adolescents who had more problems with anger control tended to be more aggressive; and those who experienced intense anger, fear and shame were more often bullied. Also, guilt was related to less aggressive behaviours in both Malaysian and Dutch samples. Yet, this thesis also revealed country/cultural specific relationships. Whereas shame was related to more aggression in Dutch adolescents, the opposite was true for Malaysian adolescents.Remarkably, this thesis found that the traditional classification between individualistic Western countries and collectivistic Eastern countries was not fully supported when cultural values were assessed at individual levels. For example, while higher levels of shame were related to less aggressive behaviours in individualistic-oriented adolescents, the opposite was true for collectivistic-oriented adolescents. Show less
Experiencing shame and guilt is painful but these emotions have an important social function. They prevent socially inappropriate behaviors as they make us aware of norms and values that are... Show moreExperiencing shame and guilt is painful but these emotions have an important social function. They prevent socially inappropriate behaviors as they make us aware of norms and values that are necessary for creating and maintaining social harmony. Participation in the social world is crucial for the development of shame and guilt, and less access to the social world could therefore be detrimental to this development. In this thesis, the influence of access to the social world on the development of self-conscious emotions is examined in two groups with less access to the social world: adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and adolescents with hearing loss. In addition, this thesis aimed to unravel the longitudinal contributions of shame and guilt on the development of adolescent aggression. Adolescents with diminished access to the social world reported lower levels of shame and guilt. The longitudinal relationships applied to both adolescent with diminished access and typically developing adolescents. It was demonstrated that shame is a risk factor for the development of reactive aggression, and that guilt is an inhibiting force on the development of bullying and proactive aggression Show less
This dissertation aims to compare the interpersonal effects of different negative emotions in negotiations, by focusing on two of the most often communicated and experienced emotions in... Show moreThis dissertation aims to compare the interpersonal effects of different negative emotions in negotiations, by focusing on two of the most often communicated and experienced emotions in negotiations: anger and disappointment. The results of four empirical chapters show that anger is an emotion that communicates power. Opponents in negotiations give in to angry negotiators to avoid negative consequences such as impasse. When opponents do not have to care about these negative consequences, anger backfires. Disappointment, on the other hand, is an emotion that communicates weakness. Opponents give in when this communicated weakness evokes guilt. When it does not evoke guilt, communicating disappointment backfires. Neuroimaging results have also shown that the communication of anger, more so than the communication of disappointment, evokes a concern for the self in opponents. This dissertation thus not only shows that the interpersonal effects of anger and disappointment differ, but also what their underlying mechanisms are and what the different consequences are for behavior. By taking a close look at how these two emotions affect others’ behavior and underlying neural mechanisms, this dissertation provides a more in-depth view of the social functions of negative emotions. Show less
