1. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Assumptions in refugee status determination Jane Herlihy Stuart Turner

2. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law “In the case of country evidence, expert evidence can be evaluated against other material” “In contrast, there will be no similar breadth of evidence to assist in the evaluation of expert medical evidence” Barnes, 2004

3. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law cultures & authority assumptions study examples of empirical enquiry the way forward Structure

4. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Clinicians’ authority evidence-based practice the scientific method hypothesis driven studies meta-analyses systematic reviews

5. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Judges’ authority hierarchy experience input from other parties collegiate atmosphere John Barnes, 2004

6. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law How do judges judge? “a window that judges try to look through, but … it is really a mirror” Regina Graycar, 1991

7. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Kagan, 2003 Careful documentation I just know when someone is lying vs Detailing of inconsistencies

8. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Method determinations recruited from law firms assumptions emerge from the data coding structure defined, validated, developed and tested coding framework inductive (data-driven) thematic analysis co-author : Kate Gleeson, University of Bristol

9. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law HERE – the asylum process Rules of the asylum procedure we did not find it credible that if the appellant had fled [his country] in fear of his life… that he would have made no effort to seek asylum when he arrived Disclosure  the appellant denies having slept with the sponsor, which the sponsor says has occured  she would have mentioned this earlier

10. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law HERE : other actors Other professionals’ judgements it is the appellant’s representative who suggests the appellant sees a psychiatrist, but not until three months after the appellant’s arrival

11. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law THERE – how others behave Family decisions after/during trauma Her husband sent her to this country ahead of anyone in his own family, including his sister who had been raped Reasonable behaviour I do consider it implausible that a family in fear, on seeing a man throw something over the fence and into their garden … would go to investigate it

12. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Discovering the Truth Detail  given that rape is such a serious thing to happen to any women, I would have expected a raped person to know when they were raped. This is not the type of event which I would expect a person to forget about or confuse  there was a texture and richness to the details of her evidence that indicates that this was true

13. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Discovering the Truth (cont.) Consistency [he] was able to withstand a cross examination from Mr. H that lasted for over one hour without any serious discrepancies coming to light Demeanour? [having] the opportunity of observing the appellant [allows the conclusion that] his behaviour supports the appellant’s assertion [of being gay]

14. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Results Conclusions assumptions in line with empirically established knowledge? Hypotheses  systematic reviews – e.g. behaviour after rape  test hypotheses – e.g. consistency

15. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Empirical investigation : I Consistency 27 Kosovan & 16 Bosnian UK programme refugees interviewed on two occasions questions about traumatic events peripheral details inconsistent in traumatic memories and, for PTSD sufferers, over long delays Herlihy, Scragg & Turner, 2002

16. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Decision makers Research liars take shorter pauses than truth-tellers body movements – no indication consecutive deceptive statements are less consistent than truthful ones liars take longer pauses liars make fewer body movements than truth-tellers consecutive deceptive statements no more or less consistent than truthful ones Granhag, Stromwall & Hartwig, 2005

17. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law “the assessment of credibility is clearly one of the most important of judicial tasks and it is essential that any methodology employed be a sound one, that does not involve reliance upon the ‘common sense’ of a judge” Catriona Jarvis, 2003

18. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Research and collaboration Medical & Social researchers Disseminate knowledge Research specifics Collaborate Decision and policy makers Acknowledge generalised knowledge Consult/commission research Collaborate

19. CSEL ©Cantre for the Study of Emotion and Law Herlihy, J., Gleeson, K. & Turner, S. (in preparation). A qualitative analysis of assumptions in judicial asylum determinations. Bogner, D., Herlihy, J. & Brewin, C. (2007). Impact of sexual violence on disclosure during Home Office interviews. British Journal of Psychiatry, 191, 75-81. Herlihy, J., Scragg, P. & Turner, S. (2002). Discrepancies in Autobiographical Memories: Implications for the Assessment of Asylum Seekers: repeated interviews study. British Medical Journal, 324, 324-327. jane.herlihy@csel.org.uk www.csel.org.uk