Cognitive Distortions

• What are cognitive distortions?

  Errors or biases in peoples information processing system, characterised by faulty thinking. Research has linked cognitive distortions to the way that criminals interpret others behaviour and justify their actions.
• What are the two types of cognitive distortions?

  • Hostile attribution bias
  • Minimalisation
• Hostile Attribution Bias


  HAB is thinking everyone is being hostile towards you at all times, misinterpreting others words and actions, reading non-aggressive cues for aggressive cues. This is associated with a propensity for violence, as offenders may misread non-aggressive cues, triggering a disproportionate and violent response.
• Hostile Attribution Bias: Research Support

  Schonenberg and Justye showed 55 violent offenders images of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. When compared with a non-offender control group, violent offenders were more likely to perceive the images as angry and hostile. Dodge and Frame suggest that HAB may originate in childhood. They showed children a video of ambiguous provocation. Those identified as rejected and aggressive at the beginning of the study interpreted the video as more hostile than those classed as accepted and non-aggressive.
• What is minimisation?


  Downplaying the seriousness of offence. Referred to as a euphemistic label of behaviour by Bandura..
• Studies suggest that sexual offenders are prone to minimisation:

  • Barabee: studied 26 rapists and found that 54% denied their crime and 40% minimised the harm
  • Pollock and Hashmall: reported that a 26% of a sample of child molesters argued that the crime was non-sexual.
• Cognitive Distortions: Evaluation Points

  • Wider application to therapy
  • Research support
• Cognitive Distortions: Wider application to therapy

  • CBT challenges irrational thinking and offenders are encouraged to acknowledge what they have done wrong and adapt a less distorted view.
  • Harkins suggests that reduced incidences of denial and minimisation in therapy is associated with reduced reoffending.
  • This is a strength as it has practical application as it aims to reform offenders and change their way of thinking.
  • Improves safety of society.
• Cognitive Distortions: Research Support

  HAB:

  • Schoenberg and Justye
  • Dodge and Frame

  Minimalisation:

  • Barabee
  • Pollock and Hashmall