This literature review examines the differences between sex offenders and nonoffenders with regard to social perception skills, cognitive distortions, and empathy skills in order to investigate sex offenders' cognition. The literature on cognitive distortions is discussed, with reference to the confusion surrounding its definition, and the debate between cognitive distortions as offense-supportive beliefs or justifications is examined. In terms of social perception, particular reference is made to sex offenders' misinterpretations of women's social cues and the source of this deficit. The authors discuss possibilities for this deficit, including offense-supportive beliefs that are driven by underlying implicit theories or schemata held by offenders. The concept of empathy and its relation to both social perception skills and cognitive distortions is discussed, and the integration of these factors is represented in a new model.
Abel, G.G., Becker, J.V., & Cunningham-Rathner, J. (1984). Complications, consent and cognitions in sex between children and adults. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 7, 89-103.
2.
Abel, G.G., Blanchard, E.B., & Becker, J.V. (1976). Psychological treatment of rapists. In M. Walker & S. Brodsky (Eds.), Sexual assault: The victim and the rapist (pp. 99-115). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
3.
Anderson, D., & Dodgson, P.G. (2002). Empathy deficits, self-esteem, and cognitive distortions in sexual offenders. In Y. Fernandez (Ed.), In their shoes (pp. 73-90). Oklahoma City, OK: Woods `N' Barnes.
4.
Arkowitz, S., & Vess, J. (2003). An evaluation of the Bumby RAPE and MOLEST scales as measures of cognitive distortions with civilly committed sexual offenders . Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 15, 237-249.
5.
Balota, D., Flores d'Arcais, G.B., & Rayner, K. (1990). Comprehension process in reading. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6.
Barbaree, H.E., & Marshall, W.L. (1988). Deviant sexual arousal, offense history, and demographic variables as predictors of reoffense among child molesters. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 6, 267-280.
7.
Barbaree, H.E., Marshall, W.L., & Lanthier, R.D. (1979). Deviant sexual arousal in rapists. Behavior Research and Therapy, 17, 215-222.
8.
Bargh, J.A., & Ferguson, M.J. (2000). Beyond behaviorism: On the automaticity of higher mental processes. Psychological Bulletin,126, 925-945.
9.
Bargh, J.A., & Raymond, P. (1995). The naive misuse of power: Nonconscious sources of sexual harassment. Journal of Social Issues, 51, 85-96.
10.
Bargh, J.A., Raymond, P., Pryor, J.B., & Strack, F. (1995). Attractiveness of the underling: an automatic power: Sex association and its consequences for sexual harassment and aggression . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 768-781.
11.
Beck, J.S. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford.
12.
Beech, A., Fisher, D., & Ward, T. (2005). Sexual murderers' implicit theories. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 1366-1389.
13.
Beech, A.R., & Mann, R.E. (2002). Recent developments in the treatment of sexual offenders. In J. McGuire (Ed.), Offender rehabilitation: Effective programs and policies to reduce reoffending . Chichester: Wiley pp. 259-288.
14.
Beech, A.R. & Ward, T. (2004). The integration of etiology and risk in sex offenders: A theoretical model. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 10, 31-63.
15.
Bumby, K.M. (1996). Assessing the cognitive distortions of child molesters and rapists: Developments and validations of the MOLEST and RAPE scales. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 8, 37-54.
16.
Bumby, K.M. (2000). Empathy inhibition, intimacy deficits, and attachment difficulties in sex offenders. In D. R. Laws, S. M. Hudson, & T. Ward (Eds.), Remaking relapse prevention with sex offenders: A sourcebook (pp. 143-166). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Burt, M.R. (1983). Justifying personal violence: A comparison of rapists and the general public. Victimology: An International Journal, 8, 131-150.
18.
Clark, L., & Lewis, D. (1977). Rape: The price of coercive sexuality. Toronto, Canada: Women's Press.
19.
Cohen, D., & Strayer, J. (1996). Empathy in conduct-disordered and comparison youth . Developmental Psychology, 32, 988-998.
20.
Cross, D.G., & Sharpley, C.F. (1982). Measurement of empathy with the Hogan Empathy Scale. Psychological Reports, 50, 62.
21.
Davis, M.H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 113-126.
22.
Dillard, J.P., & Hunter, J.E. (1989). On the use and interpretation of the Emotional Empathy Scale, the Self-Consciousness Scales, and the Self-Monitoring Scale . Communication Research, 16, 104-129.
23.
D'Orazio, D.M. (2004). Letter to the editor. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 16, 173-174.
24.
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W.V. (1975). Unmasking the face: A guide to recognizing emotions from facial clues. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
25.
Ekman, P., & Oster, H. (1979). Facial expressions of emotion. Annual Review ofPsychology, 20, 527-554.
26.
Fernandez, Y.M., Marshall, W.L., Lightbody, S., & O'Sullivan, C. (1999). The Child Molester Empathy Measure: Description of its reliability and validity. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 11, 17-31.
27.
Feshbach, N.D. (1997). Empathy: The formative years— Implications for clinical practice. In A. C. Bohart & L. S. Greenberg (Eds.), Empathy reconsidered: New directions in psychotherapy (pp. 33-59). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
28.
Finkelhor, D., & Lewis, I.A. (1988). An epidemiologic approach to the study of child molestation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 528, 64-78.
29.
Fiske, S.T., & Taylor, S.E. (1991). Social cognition. New York : McGraw-Hill.
30.
Furnham, A. (1988). Lay theories: Everyday understanding of problems in the social sciences. New York: Pergamon.
31.
Gannon, T.A., & Polaschek, D.L.L. (2006). Cognitive distortions in child molesters: A re-examination of key theories and research. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 1000-1019.
32.
Greenwald, A.G., McGhee, J.L., & Schwartz, J.L. (1998). Measuring individual difference in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480.
33.
Hall, G.C., & Hirschman, R. (1991). Toward a theory of sexual aggression: A quadripartite model. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 662-669.
34.
Hanson, R.K. (2003). Empathy deficits of sexual offenders: A conceptual model. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 9, 13-23.
35.
Hanson, R.K., Gizzarelli, R., & Scott, H. (1994). The attitudes of incest offenders: Sexual entitlement and acceptance of sex with children. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 21, 187-202.
36.
Hanson, R.K., & Scott, H. (1995). Assessing perspective-taking among sexual offenders, nonsexual criminals and nonoffenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 7, 259-277.
37.
Hayashino, D.S., Wurtle, S.K., & Klebe, K.J. (1995). Child molesters: An examination of cognitive factors . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 106-116.
38.
Hogan, R. (1969). Development of an empathy scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 307-316.
39.
Hudson, S.M., Marshall, W.L., Wales, D., McDonald, E., Bakker, L.W., & McLean, A. (1993). Emotional recognition skills of sex offenders. Annals of Sex Research, 6, 199-211.
40.
Johnson, A., Cheek, J.M., & Smither, R. (1983). The structure of empathy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1299-1312.
41.
Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D.P. (2004). Empathy and offending: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 9, 441-476.
42.
Kamphuis, J.H., de Ruiter, C., Janssen, B., & Spiering, M. (2005). Preliminary evidence for an automatic link between sex and power among men who molest children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 1351-1365.
43.
Keenan, T., & Ward, T. (2000). A theory of mind perspective on cognitive, affective, and intimacy deficits in child sexual offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 12, 49-60.
44.
Langevin, R., Wright, P., & Handy, L. (1988). Empathy, assertiveness, aggressiveness, and defensiveness among sex offenders. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 1, 533-547.
45.
Lipton, D.N., McDonel, E.C., & McFall, R.M. (1987). Heterosocial perception in rapists. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 55, 17-21.
46.
Malamuth, N.M., & Brown, L.M. (1994). Sexually aggressive men's perceptions of women's communications. Testing three explanations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 699-712.
47.
Malamuth, N.M., & Check, J.V.P. (1980). Penile tumescence and perceptual responses to rape as a function of victim's perceived reactions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 10, 528-547.
48.
Malamuth, N., Haber, S., & Feshbach, S. (1980). Testing hypotheses regarding rape: Exposure to sexual violence, sex differences, and the “normality” of rapists . Journal of Research in Personality, 14, 121-137.
49.
Malamuth, N.M., Heim, M., & Feshbach, S. (1980). Sexual responsiveness of college students to rape depictions: Inhibitory and dis-inhibitory effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 399-408.
50.
Marolla, J., & Scully, D. (1986). Attitudes toward women, violence, and rape: A comparison of convicted rapists and other felons. Deviant Behavior, 7, 337-355.
51.
Marshall, W.L. (2002). The development of empathy. In Y. Fernandez (Ed.), In their shoes (pp. 36-52). Oklahoma City, OK: Woods `N' Barnes.
52.
Marshall, W.L., Anderson, D., & Fernandez, Y. (1999). Cognitive behavioural treatment of sexual offenders. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
53.
Marshall, W.L., & Barbaree, H.E. (1990). An integrated theory of the etiology of sexual offending. In W. L. Marshall, D. R. Laws, & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 257-275). New York: Plenum.
54.
Marshall, W.L., Champagne, F., Brown, C., & Miller, S. (1997). Empathy, intimacy, loneliness and self-esteem in nonfamilial child molesters: A brief report. Journal of Child Sex Abuse, 6, 87-98.
55.
Marshall, W.L., Cripps, E., Anderson, D., & Cortoni, F. (1999). Self-esteem and coping strategies in child molesters . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(9), 955-962.
56.
Marshall, W.L., Hamilton, K., & Fernandez, Y. (2001). Empathy deficits and cognitive distortions in child molesters. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment , 13, 123-130.
57.
Marshall, W.L., Hudson, S.M., Jones, R., & Fernandez, Y.M. (1995). Empathy in sex offenders . Clinical Psychology Review, 15, 99-115.
58.
Marshall, W.L., Marshall, L.E., Sachdev, S., & Kruger, R.L. (2003). Distorted attitudes and perceptions, and their relationship with self-esteem and coping in child molesters. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 15, 171-181.
59.
Maruna, S., & Mann, R.E. (2006). A fundamental attribution error? Rethinking cognitive distortions. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 11, 155-177.
60.
Marziano, V., Ward, T., Beech, A.R., & Pattison, P. (2006). Identification of five fundamental implicit theories underlying cognitive distortions in child abusers: A preliminary study. Psychology , Crime & Law, 12, 97-105.
61.
McDonel, E.C., & McFall, R.M. (1991). Construct validity of two heterosocial perception skill measures for assessing rape proclivity. Violence and Victims, 6, 17-30.
62.
McFall, R.M. (1989). The enhancement of social skills: An information processing analysis. In W. L. Marshall, D. R. Laws, & H. E. Barbaree (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender (pp. 311-330). New York: Plenum.
63.
McGrath, M., Cann, S., & Konopasky, R. (1998). New measures of defensiveness, empathy and cognitive distortions for sexual offenders against children. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 10, 25-36.
64.
Mehrabian, A., & Epstein, N. (1972). A measure of emotional empathy. Journal of Personality, 40, 525.
65.
Mihailides, S., Devilly, G.J., & Ward, T. (2004). Implicit cognitive distortions and sexual offending . Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 16, 333-350.
66.
Miller, P.A., & Eisenberg, N. (1988). The relation of empathy to aggressive and antisocial behaviour. Psychological Bulletin,103, 324-344.
67.
Moore, B.S. (1990). The origins and development of empathy. Motivation and Emotion, 14(2), 75-79.
68.
Oliver, C.J., Watson, D.G., Gannon, T.A., & Beech, A.R. (2006). The effect of sexual priming cues on emotional recognition in child sexual abusers. Unpublished manuscript.
69.
Pithers, W. (1999). Empathy: Definition, enhancement, and relevance to the treatment of sexual abusers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 257-284.
70.
Polaschek, D.L.L., & Gannon, T.A. (2004). The implicity theories of rapists: What convicted offenders tell us. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 16(4), 299-314.
71.
Polaschek, D.L.L., & Ward, T. (2002). The implicit theories of potential rapists: What our questionnaires tell us. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 7, 385-406.
72.
Stahl, S.S., & Sacco, W.P. (1995). Heterosocial perception in child molesters and rapists. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 19, 695-706.
73.
Stermac, L.E., & Segal, Z.V. (1989). Adult sexual contact with children: An examination of cognitive factors. Behavior Therapy, 20, 573-584.
74.
Sternberg, R.J., Conway, B.E., Ketron, J.L., & Bernstein, M. (1981). People's conceptions of intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 19, 37-55.
75.
Tierney, D.W., & McGabe, M.P. (2001). An evaluation of self-report measures of cognitive distortions and empathy among Australian sex offenders . Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 30, 495-519.
76.
Ward, T. (2000). Sexual offenders' cognitive distortions as implicit theories. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 5, 491-507.
77.
Ward, T., Gannon, T., & Keown, K. (2006). Beliefs, values, and action: The judgment model of cognitive distortions. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 11, 323-340.
78.
Ward, T., Hudson, S.M., Johnston, L., & Marshall, W.L. (1997). Cognitive distortions in sexual offenders: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 17, 1-29.
79.
Ward, T., & Keenan, T. (1999). Child molesters' implicit theories. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 821-838.
80.
Ward, T., Keenan, T., & Hudson, S.M. (1999). Understanding cognitive, affective, and intimacy deficits in sexual offenders: A developmental perspective. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5, 41-62.
81.
Ward, T., Polaschek, D.L.L., & Beech, A.R. (2006). Theories of sexual offending. New York: John Wiley.
82.
Ward, T., & Siegert, R.J. (2002). Toward a comprehensive theory of child abuse: A theory knitting perspective. Psychology, Crime and Law, 8, 319-351.
