Psychopathy: Nature vs. Nurture in Criminals - Essay Sample

Introduction

• Do all criminals have psychopathic tendencies, with there being a positive correlation between a higher rating in psychopathy and a more gratuitous crime?
• Is psychopathy the basis for all criminals (specifically: sex offenders?)?

From our research, we seem to have more solidified data on nurture having a more significant impact on psychopathy, is this true? Or is the lack of evidence regarding nature just victim to the file drawer phenomenon?

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The independent variable is a program of empathy training (own emotional awareness), and the dependent variable is empathy with no direction of change. This research hypothesizes that administering an empathy training program to current inmates will decrease recidivism among sex offenders. The method for analysis will use 30 adult men, convicted and currently incarcerated for sexual offences against women. The respondents will be within a similar age range of 30-39 years old as recidivistic rates of 21.8%. Information meetings will be conducted with Avenel Prison clinical staff to gain their assistance in accessing a sampling frame, to include soon to be paroled inmates. The sampling is a non-probability.

Administering an Empathy Training Program to Current Inmates Will Decrease Recidivism Among Sex Offenders

Self-awareness and the growth of empathy have been indicated by various research as being central to decreasing recidivism by sex offenders. The fundamental premise is easily understood and easy to achieve the targets. If sex criminals' empathic skills can be developed, their rate of reoffence is reduced, specifically concerning sexual crimes. Treatment rehabilitations are meant to tackle this perceived deficiency in empathic ability (Phillips, 2013). Most of this rehabilitation have a high cognitive-behavioural focus. One study suggests that the mental or more particularly the cognitive-behavioural model (CBT) is the dominant model. CBT schemes assume that by tackling the cognitive and behavioural factors of the empathetic ability, deficiencies will be corrected (Phillip, 2013). In this paper, it evaluates the impact of empathy training in reducing recidivism in male sex offenders and thus help in understanding the significant subject matters of empathic recognition of emotion communication through facial expression.

The role of empathy in schemes for the treatment of sex criminals has been accredited extensive coverage (Mann & Bennett, 2012). One study explained empathy as the process by which an individual centrally imagines the thoughts, feelings and emotions of another individual (Phillip, 2013). Goldie indicates that empathy to happen, the person ought to first be aware of the other as a centre of consciousness distinct from himself. Soon after, he should think of himself as an individual who has a strong characterization. Empathy has also been explained as a basic form of social awareness that mirrors an essential ability to share an emotional experience with another individual on cognitive degrees as well as sufficient levels of engagement. Therefore empathy should include both knowing and feeling another individual's feeling. These experiences involve the ability to identify and differentiate effect on others as well as the capability to assume the perspective of a second individual. Also, it includes emotional responsiveness: which is the ability to feel emotions. As soon as the empathic experience settles it is to be hoped that the person should act in an expected pro-communal manner.

Research Question

• Do all criminals have psychopathic tendencies, with there being a positive correlation between a higher rating in psychopathy and a more gratuitous crime?
• Is psychopathy the basis for all criminals (specifically: sex offenders?)?

From our research, we seem to have more solidified data on nurture having a more significant impact on psychopathy, is this true? Or is the lack of evidence regarding nature just victim to the file drawer phenomenon?

Research Objectives

To evaluate the impact of empathy training programs on male sex offender recidivism

Problem Statement

Many sex offender corrective schemes spend a lot of time to improve victim empathy, and victim empathy has, for an extended period be viewed as a significant element of sexual offending (Phillip, 2013). Such claims have not been established on empirical proof which justifies the aim of this study to assess the impact of victim empathy. On the other hand, there is a variety of research that indicates that victim empathy is not of value which is incorrect to be viewed and termed as definitive (Petruccelli et al., 2008).

Significance of the Study

The information from this study will be beneficial to policymakers in the rehabilitation department and corrective authorities in enforcing effective policies while aiming to correct male sex offenders to enable them not to reoffend the crime

Literature Review

In this chapter it discusses the meaning of victim empathy and what it involves. It includes some models of change from previous studies to measure the effect of victim empathy as it attempts to answer whether sex offenders lack victim empathy and the level of predicting recidivism.

Mostly civilized individuals acts of sex offences are abhorrent. It seems misunderstanding to the public that men acting in sex offences could be anything other than mentally deranged or psychopathological. One study indicates that suggested beliefs of sex offenders produce distorted statements, such as the victim wanting sex (Bodszek et al., 2016). In the study, the authors indicate that causal relation among demeaning and misogynistic perceptions, attributes, moral evaluation and the sexual offence is one of the most significant areas of inquiry in research on sexual aggression. Matters surrounding these cognitive distortions are a major part of sexual offender treatment programmes (Bodszek et al., 2016).

Empathy training involves the normalization, education, training and treatment (NETT) program was held at the Junee, New South Wales, Australia correctional facility as part of collection of programs designed to help inmates with the development of skills and capacities to raise their prospects of successful entrance into mainstream society (Bodszek et al., 2016). The program was undertaken over an approximately 17 week period. The theoretical grounds for the schemes is wide. In a study conducted which included a program that encompassed several modalities including two teams using a "hot seat" method for particular issues and social living. Respondents were chosen through the level of readiness as well as sustainability in terms of their capability to use and participate well in the scheme. Respondents in the scheme were evaluated for suitability through the use of the following psychometric instruments. The information from the MSI was used to educate the respondents on the treatment sessions without exclusion (Bodszek et al., 2016). Inmates were excluded if they were assessed on the psychopathy Checklist-Revised, and there was a possibility of not benefitting from the scheme or they were unable to participate in the activities of the schemes. The inmates nearing release dates were also excluded since they would not be able to complete the program. The program followed industry standards of implementation and practice. The programme was consistent with those utilized to treat sex offenders (Bodszek et al., 2016).

Even though the regular emergence of review papers on the subject of empathy, there lacks a good number of consensus on whether victims empathy is an essential, important, unnecessary or likely harmful component of sexual offender treatment. One publication highlighted that clinical presentation variables, for example, low victim empathy and suggest that it has little significance correlating with sexual or nonsexual recidivism. There have been discussions among treatment providers about whether victim empathy work could be eliminated from treatment schemes (Oliver et al., 2020). The need for such action is contradicted by research done on offenders experiences on treatment programs where the individuals invariably report that victim empathy world was one of the most powerful facets of treatment. The discrepancy has not been reconciled. There is global practice of victim empathy intervention, and thus the treatment providers have similar beliefs. The most current survey of sexual offender treatment providers shows that between 87% and 95% of North American programs include victim empathy as rehabilitation objective (Oliver et al., 2020). For adults schemes, victim empathy was the most commonly cited treatment target, and for adult residential programs, victim empathy was one frequently cited cure target. The position lack limitation in North America. In England and Wales, the new prison sex criminals schemes devote about one-fifth of the period to victim empathy work.

Similarly to victim empathy, other studies have indicated that common sense or intuitive approaches to treatment can constitute "correctional quackery" where correctional staff prioritize personal experiences, beliefs and proof above the evidence being produced from rigorous, large scale research efforts (Wastell et al., 2009). Correctional quackery produces services aimed at offenders that fail to decrease recidivism. Contrary, rehabilitation has been defined as administering intervention time to heal or manage an individual's disorder. Mostly in the forensic context, rehabilitation involves work that targets to decrease and remove reoffending and is judged on the capability to do so. Targeting to ascertain whether victim empathy work in its current form is effective rehabilitation or correctional programs. The kind of proof that would justify the highlight that victim empathy intervention is corrective would encompass en empirically-based theory for the existence and causal role of victim empathy deficit in crimes or proof that distorted victim empathy is attributed to higher reconviction rates as well as data highlighting that treatment procedures meant to enhance empathy for victims mostly likely produces a decrease in reoffending,

Victim empathy work could be indicated to be rehabilitative deception if it does not decrease reoffences or it acts against the corrective aim. Yet, practitioners or policymakers continue to believe in its success even though the evidence. Another alternative include victim empathy intervention and may be seen as desirable because it obtains another aim and that of punishment. Punishment is explained to be a purposeful imposition of a burden on a person via actions. One challenge in reviewing victim empathy is t...