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Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense

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Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense. / Maroño, A.; Bartels, R.M.
In: Psychology, Crime and Law, Vol. 26, No. 9, 01.10.2020, p. 887-901.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Maroño, A & Bartels, RM 2020, 'Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense', Psychology, Crime and Law, vol. 26, no. 9, pp. 887-901. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2020.1742339

APA

Maroño, A., & Bartels, R. M. (2020). Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense. Psychology, Crime and Law, 26(9), 887-901. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2020.1742339

Vancouver

Maroño A, Bartels RM. Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense. Psychology, Crime and Law. 2020 Oct 1;26(9):887-901. Epub 2020 Mar 17. doi: 10.1080/1068316X.2020.1742339

Author

Maroño, A. ; Bartels, R.M. / Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense. In: Psychology, Crime and Law. 2020 ; Vol. 26, No. 9. pp. 887-901.

Bibtex

@article{7a8fa23321c44cb19b439fee4c702111,
title = "Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense",
abstract = "Even though pedophilia is not synonymous with child sexual abuse, it remains a highly stigmatized phenomenon. As such, non-offending pedophilic individuals are judged as being dangerous, abnormal, amoral, and in need of punishment. It is unknown, however, whether a pedophilic individual would be judged more harshly than a heterosexual individual and a homosexual individual in relation to a nonsexual, nonviolent offense. This was the aim of the present study. A final sample of 309 participants were recruited online and allocated to one of three sexual orientation conditions. Participants read the same hypothetical crime report (breaking and entering) followed by a suspect profile that was identical across conditions except for sexual orientation. They then provided sentencing and moral character judgements of the suspect. Participants also completed a punitive attitudes scale pertaining to pedophilia. Results showed that the pedophilic individual received harsher judgments relative to the heterosexual individual, but only at higher levels of pre-existing punitive attitudes. These findings suggest that anti-pedophilia stigma can bias judgments about offenses that are not sexual. We argue that this is due to a 'reverse halo effect'. However, we consider an alternative explanation based on the idea of interpreting information in a schema-consistent manner. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.",
keywords = "nonsexual offense, Pedophilia, reverse halo effect, sexual orientation, stigma",
author = "A. Maro{\~n}o and R.M. Bartels",
year = "2020",
month = oct,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1080/1068316X.2020.1742339",
language = "English",
volume = "26",
pages = "887--901",
journal = "Psychology, Crime and Law",
issn = "1068-316X",
publisher = "Routledge",
number = "9",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense

AU - Maroño, A.

AU - Bartels, R.M.

PY - 2020/10/1

Y1 - 2020/10/1

N2 - Even though pedophilia is not synonymous with child sexual abuse, it remains a highly stigmatized phenomenon. As such, non-offending pedophilic individuals are judged as being dangerous, abnormal, amoral, and in need of punishment. It is unknown, however, whether a pedophilic individual would be judged more harshly than a heterosexual individual and a homosexual individual in relation to a nonsexual, nonviolent offense. This was the aim of the present study. A final sample of 309 participants were recruited online and allocated to one of three sexual orientation conditions. Participants read the same hypothetical crime report (breaking and entering) followed by a suspect profile that was identical across conditions except for sexual orientation. They then provided sentencing and moral character judgements of the suspect. Participants also completed a punitive attitudes scale pertaining to pedophilia. Results showed that the pedophilic individual received harsher judgments relative to the heterosexual individual, but only at higher levels of pre-existing punitive attitudes. These findings suggest that anti-pedophilia stigma can bias judgments about offenses that are not sexual. We argue that this is due to a 'reverse halo effect'. However, we consider an alternative explanation based on the idea of interpreting information in a schema-consistent manner. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

AB - Even though pedophilia is not synonymous with child sexual abuse, it remains a highly stigmatized phenomenon. As such, non-offending pedophilic individuals are judged as being dangerous, abnormal, amoral, and in need of punishment. It is unknown, however, whether a pedophilic individual would be judged more harshly than a heterosexual individual and a homosexual individual in relation to a nonsexual, nonviolent offense. This was the aim of the present study. A final sample of 309 participants were recruited online and allocated to one of three sexual orientation conditions. Participants read the same hypothetical crime report (breaking and entering) followed by a suspect profile that was identical across conditions except for sexual orientation. They then provided sentencing and moral character judgements of the suspect. Participants also completed a punitive attitudes scale pertaining to pedophilia. Results showed that the pedophilic individual received harsher judgments relative to the heterosexual individual, but only at higher levels of pre-existing punitive attitudes. These findings suggest that anti-pedophilia stigma can bias judgments about offenses that are not sexual. We argue that this is due to a 'reverse halo effect'. However, we consider an alternative explanation based on the idea of interpreting information in a schema-consistent manner. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

KW - nonsexual offense

KW - Pedophilia

KW - reverse halo effect

KW - sexual orientation

KW - stigma

U2 - 10.1080/1068316X.2020.1742339

DO - 10.1080/1068316X.2020.1742339

M3 - Journal article

VL - 26

SP - 887

EP - 901

JO - Psychology, Crime and Law

JF - Psychology, Crime and Law

SN - 1068-316X

IS - 9

ER -