cognitive distortions

Question 1

what are cognitive distortions

Answer 1

cognitive distortions are faulty information processing in the minds of offenders

they are faulty, biased and irrational ways of thinking that mean we perceive ourselves, other people and the world inaccurately and negatively

They have been linked to the way that criminals interpret the behaviour of others and justify their own actions

Question 2

what is a hostile attribution bias

Answer 2

this is the tendency to judge ambiguous situations or the actions of others as aggressive and/ or threatening when they may not be

Offenders may misread non - aggressive cures and this may trigger a disproportionate often violent response

Question 3

evidence for hostile attribution bias

Answer 3

Schonenberg and Justye presented 55 violent offenders wit himages of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions

Violent offenders were significantly more likely to perceive images as angry or hostile than a matched control group

Question 4

what is minimisation

Answer 4

this is a type of deception that involves downplaying the significance of an event or emotion

A common strategy when dealing with guilt.
This has been referred to as the “euphemistic label”

Question 5

what have studies shown about the minimisation

Answer 5

studies have shown that sexual offences are particularly prone to minimisation

Pollock and Hashnall reported that 35% if a sample of child molesters argues that their crime was non-sexual (just being affectionate)
36% claimed that the victim had consented