@article{ref1,
title="Non-sex offenders display distorted thinking and have empathy deficits too: A thematic analysis of cognitions and the application of empathy",
journal="Journal of sexual aggression",
year="2013",
author="Walker, Kate and Brown, Sarah J.",
volume="19",
number="1",
pages="81-101",
abstract="It is generally assumed that empathy acts to disinhibit behaviour that could be perceived as detrimental to others, and as a result is a common feature of offender treatment programmes. The present research hypothesised that empathy in all populations is both a situational and a selective process that is ultimately governed by self-interest, and further, that it is the nature of the self-interest that distinguishes individuals rather than a general empathy deficit per se. Empathic processes were observed in a non-offending population in a personal situation normally regarded as evocative of empathy: infidelity. Thematic analysis of data from individuals who reported being faithful or unfaithful to their partners revealed five dominant themes: vulnerable predisposition, emotional motivators, rational emotive decision making, avoiding cognitive dissonance and lack of remorse. The themes all revealed how individuals employed cognitive strategies, which were managed by self-interest that functioned to create cognitive states devoid of empathy.<p />",
language="en",
issn="1355-2600",
doi="10.1080/13552600.2011.618276",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2011.618276"
}