@article{ref1,
title="The effects of visual priming on information processing in child sexual offenders",
journal="Journal of sexual aggression",
year="2008",
author="Ward, Tony and Gannon, Theresa A. and Keown, Kiera",
volume="14",
number="2",
pages="145-159",
abstract="Child sexual offenders are hypothesized to hold offence-supportive beliefs that set them apart from others. The current study seeks support for this view via a cognitive-experimental approach. Child sexual offenders and offender controls were exposed to pictures of semi-clothed children (priming condition) or clothed, mature adults (control condition). Participants then read ambiguous sentences describing children's actions that could be interpreted in a sexualized manner. Next, participants completed a surprise recognition test in which half the sentences were re-presented in an unambiguously sexual form, and half in an unambiguously non-sexual form. Contrary to hypotheses, primed and/or control child sexual offenders did not show a memory bias for sexualized sentences, suggesting that they did not interpret the original sentences in line with offence-supportive beliefs. Results raise questions about whether child sexual offenders universally hold abnormal beliefs that facilitate their offending. Results also highlight the need for further experimental research within this field.   <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1355-2600",
doi="10.1080/13552600802248114",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552600802248114"
}