The Implicit Theories of Rapists: What Convicted Offenders Tell Us

Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2002

Theories of rape give some prominence to the role of offense-supportive cognitive processes and attitudes. Yet, research on the relationship between cognition and rape has produced a confusing picture. Numerous methodological issues are no doubt contributing to this confusion. However, in this article, we argue that another major contributor is the lack of attention given to the underlying mechanisms responsible for generating rape-supportive beliefs. Firstly, we review the relevant cognitive research on rapists and rape-prone men. Then, we present psychological research on implicit theories, and on the nature of conceptual representation, development, and change. We apply this implicit theory perspective to existing scales that measure rape-related distorted cognitions, and derive some core theories from the scale items. We describe these theories, giving examples of items that support them. Finally, we discuss the clinical and research implications of the implicit theories we have identified. D

In this article, I argue that sexual offenders' cognitive distortions emerge from underlying causal theories about the nature of their victims. These implicit theories function like scientific theories and are used to explain empirical regularities (e.g., other people's actions) and to make predictions about the world. They are relatively coherent and constituted by a number of interlocking ideas and their component concepts and categories. Following a review of research from other areas in psychology on implicit theories, I consider the implications of this perspective for understanding cognitive distortions in sexual offenders. Finally, I discuss the research and clinical implications of viewing cognitive distortions in offenders as implicit theories.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2001

Polaschek et al. / RAPISTS' OFFENSE PROCESSES Models of the offense process set out to provide a description of the cognitive, behavioral, motivational, and contextual factors associated with a particular type of offense. They model the temporal relationships between the variables of interest and focus explicitly on the proximal causes or the how of offending. In this study, qualitative analysis was used to develop a descriptive model of the offense process for 24 adult rapists. Sentenced offenders provided detailed retrospective descriptions of their thoughts, emotions, and behavior prior to and during their most recent rape. These descriptions were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The resulting preliminary model contained the following six phases: background factors to the offense, goal formation, approach behavior, offense preparation, the offense, and postoffense behavior. These stages are discussed along with the model's theoretical, research, and clinical implications. The model is consistent with existing multivariate theories of rape and has clear taxonomic potential.

Sexual Abuse, 2009

Researchers have proposed that the cognitive distortions of sexual offenders are underpinned by a number of implicit cognitive processes termed implicit theories. Until recently, however, the implicit theory hypothesis has received little empirical support due to broader limitations with standard forensic assessment procedures. The current research aimed to determine whether a new assessment methodology, the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP), could provide further evidence for Ward and Keenan's (1999) children as sexual beings implicit theory. The results indicated that the IRAP was significantly more effective at identifying core implicit differences between sexual offenders against children and nonoffenders than a cognitive distortion questionnaire. Furthermore, although both groups demonstrated an overall response bias towards adults as sexual and children as nonsexual, this bias was significantly impaired in the sexual offender group. The findings are discussed...

Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 2004

The semantic-motivation hypothesis is used to guide the development of 3 implicit association tests (IATs). These IATs were used to test for the existence of 3 expected child sexual offender implicit cognitive distortions in child sexual offenders ("children as sexual beings," "uncontrollability of sexuality," and "sexual entitlement-bias"). Results showed that child sexual offenders had larger IAT effects than did mainstream offenders and male and female nonoffenders for the "children as sexual beings" and the "uncontrollability of sexuality" implicit theories. Child sexual offenders also had a larger IAT effect than male and female nonoffenders for the "sexual entitlement-bias" implicit theory. Implications for the semantic-motivation hypothesis are discussed.

Journal of Community Psychology, 1979

This study examined the assignment of blame in rape episodes by female observers. When the rapist's behavior was described as caused by intrapsychic, as compared with organic factors, greater blame was assigned to the rapist. A greater degree of causal attribution to factors external to the rapist occurred with organic, as compared with intrapsychic, causation. Ratings of the severity of punishment deserved by the rapist differed significantly as a function of both intrapsychic versus organic causation and whether the rape was characterized as sexually versus aggressively motivated.

Thammasat Review, 2020

This study investigates the cognition of sex offenders in their interpretation and making sense of convicted crimes and how they perceived themselves as contributors to the crime in their self-to-self-reflection perspective. The study was also designed to access their interpretation of other people's attitude regarding rape. Three hundred and eighty-four incarcerated Thai sex offenders from eight Central Prisons across Thailand were examined for their cognitive processing in their committed crimes against child and adult victims using two self-report instruments: (1) Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory-Revised (GBAI-R: Gudjonssan & Singh, 1989); and (2) Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance-Short Form (IRMA-SF: Payne, Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1999) which is used to examine their attitude toward the appropriateness regarding sexual intercourse also shaped by the general perception from society that they are embedded in. The impact of these contributing factors in nurturing the rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs are hypothesized to be reflected in their styles of blame attribution. Adult sex offenders reported a higher external attribution score than child sex offenders. There are no differences in the mental attribution and guilt scores between child sex offender and adult sex offender groups. Rape myth acceptance total mean score is positively correlated with the external attribution score in both child sex offender and adult sex offenders while the rape myth subscales reveal a different correlation to the blame attribution subscales. Rape myth acceptance statements and external blame attribution functioned to reduce guilt in adult sex offenders while it did not reduce guilt in child sex offenders but rather provided the content in their statements in justifying their criminal action to external and mental factors. There was no difference between child sex offenders and adult sex offender groups in the rape myth total mean score and seven rape myth subscales, which could be reflecting the more common thinking pattern among the child sex offenders and adult sex offenders.

International Journal of Advanced Studies in Sexology, 2021

The rationalization used by rapists to justify their criminal behavior are a risk factor for relapse. The modification of cognitive distortions is a therapeutic purpose for rehabilitation (Someda, 2009). Using Rape Scale (Bumby, 1996) we evaluated the participants' (N = 480, 57 convicted rapists, 223 students non-rapists) level of cognitive distortions related to rape. Using ANOVA we identified differences between convicted rapists, psychology or law students and polytechnic students (F(3,461) = 60,69, .000, η2p = 0.283). In line with previous research (Bell, Kuriloff & Lottes, 1994), men are more lenient with rapists, accept more justifications about rape and blame the victim more. We identified differences between male and female participants and between male students and convicted rapists (F(2,477) = 98,88, .000, η2p = .293).This research brings new evidence for the importance of cognitive restructuring for implicit cognitive distortions. We discuss possible limitations and directions for future research.

Clinical Psychology Review

In the past decade, research into the etiology of rape has increasingly focused on cognitive variables. The studies reviewed in the present article provide evidence that men with a high proclivity to rape have more rape supportive attitudes, are more likely to consider victims to be responsible for rape, and are less knowledgeable about the negative impact of rape on the victims. These men tend to misperceive cues emitted by women in heterosocial interactions; fail to generate inhibitory self-verbalizations to suppress association of sex and aggression; and have more coercive, sexual fantasies. Furthermore, a high proclivity to rape is associated with a semantic network in which concepts of sex and power are closely linked in such a way that power cues are necessary precursors of sexual feelings. Multivariate studies suggest that rape-supportive attitudes interact with noncognitive factors in the etiology of rape. Implications for rape prevention and treatment of rapists are considered. Finally, methodological issues are discussed, and recommendations for future research are given. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd SEVERAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL studies indicate an alarming prevalence of rape. In North American samples of college students (e.g., and in community samples (e.g., , about one in four women report to have been the victim of a rape or an attempted rape. About 15% of male college students report to have attempted at least once to have intercourse with an unwilling female (Koss et al.,

Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 2011

This study focused on moral judgment, cognitive distortions and implicit theories in 77 young sex offenders of whom 56 were child abusers and 21 were peer abusers. The sociomoral reflection measureshort form (SRM-SF) was used to assess moral judgment, and was extended with questions about sexual situations and the offenders' abuse victim(s). Lower stage moral judgment was only found in peer abusers responding to own victim situations. The Sex With Children (SWCH) scale was used to measure implicit theories, which are beliefs justifying sex with children. No significant differences were found between the child and peer abuser group. Neither significant relations were found between the implicit theories and the level of moral judgment. In addition, all SRM-SF responses were coded according to Measuring cognitive distortion in antisocial youth: Development and preliminary validation of the 'How I think' questionnaire. Psychology Department, 22, 333-343) four-category typology of self-serving cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions concerning the abuse victim were associated with lower stage moral judgment, but only in the peer abuser group.