Gudjonsson and Bownes - Attribution Of Blame

Question 0

Where were the participants from?

Answer 0

Northern Ireland

Question 1

How many participants were there?

Answer 1

80 criminals

Question 2

How many groups were the participants split into and what were they?

Answer 2

3 groups

1. Criminal offenders
2. Sex offenders
3. Property offenders

Question 3

What was the criminal offenders group?

Answer 3

Committed violent offences including homicide and grievous bodily harm (GBH)
20 criminals
Mean age= 29 years old

Question 4

What was the sex offenders group?

Answer 4

Offenders included rapists, paedophiles and those who committed sexual assault
40 offenders
Mean age: 41 years old for paedophiles and 28 years old for other offenders

Question 5

What are the two main types of attribution?

Answer 5

1. Internal/external attribution

2. Mental element

Question 6

What is internal attribution?

Answer 6

Where a person attributes the cause of behaviour within themselves.

Question 7

What is external attribution?

Answer 7

Social and environmental factors, which include provocation and social pressures.

Question 8

How did they measure the offender’s type of offence and attribution of blame?

Answer 8

Using Gudjonsson’s Blame Attribution Inventory (GBAI) measures on three different levels:
Internal/external attribution
Mental element
Guilt

Question 9

Which type of offender had the highest scores on guilt?

Answer 9

Sex offenders at 12.7 (13)