Deficits in theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning: a comparison between young offenders and non-offenders
Abstract
Previous research suggests a lack of pro-social skills is characteristic of an antisocial or offending personality. It is therefore reasonable to assume that an inadequate understanding of another's mental state may contribute to antisocial or offending behaviour. Forty-six young-adult male offenders and a control completed measures to assess: Theory of Mind (ToM), empathic understanding (EU) and moral reasoning. Significant differences in the performance of young-adult offenders and the control group were detected in ToM, EU and moral reasoning with young-adult offenders scoring lower than the control group. A positive association was also found between ToM, EU and moral reasoning. These findings contribute to a further understanding of how individuals make sense of, and respond to, the social world around them. The ability to measure ToM, EU and moral reasoning and subsequently identify any specific deficits, as well as recognise the link between these three key skills, is not only useful for researchers but it will also allow practitioners to tailor existing (or develop new) interventions specific to the needs of an individual. This could be particularly useful in terms of recidivism when applied to those involved in antisocial or offending behaviour.
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Impairments in empathy or Theory of Mind have been associated with antisocial behavior, for instance hyperaggression.
“In contrast, impairments in empathy or ToM have been associated with antisocial behavior, for instance to hyperaggression [18,37,50].”
From On the interaction of social affect and cognition: empathy, compassion and theory of mind (2018) · cites this paper as [50]
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On the interaction of social affect and cognition: empathy, compassion and theory of mind
Preckel, K., Kanske, P., & Singer, T. (2018) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.07.010 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
- Authors
- Spenser, K. A., Betts, L. R., & Das Gupta, M.
- Affiliations
- Nottingham Trent University (GB)
- ,
- Corresponding author
- Spenser, Karin A.
- Venue
- Psychology, Crime & Law
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2015-04-09
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 632-647
- ISSN
- 1068-316X (ISSN-L)
- 1477-2744
- OpenAlex
- W2082702761
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 71
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 1.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychology Crime and Law (publishedVersion)
- Staffordshire Online Repository (Staffordshire University) (acceptedVersion)
- University of Derby Online Research Archive. (University of Derby) (submittedVersion)
- Nottingham Trent University's Institutional Repository (Nottingham Trent Repository) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- theory of mind, empathic understanding, moral reasoning, juvenile offenders, antisocial behavior, prosocial skills, recidivism, social cognition
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