Violent thinking

Imagine you are the lay member on a parole board; should a man who is in prison for 12 years for attempted murder be allowed to go home? How do you know if he’ll offend violently again? How much trust can you place in the expert opinions you are basing your decisions upon?

One current way of assessing a violent offender's state of mind is by simply asking him, in a questionnaire, whether he agrees with violent statements such as “If a person hits you, you have to hit them back”. But these answers are easy to fake, and scientists are now developing ways to measure hidden cognitions – our unaware, automated thinking.

Dr Devon Polaschek, from Victoria University of Wellington, has received a Fast-Start Marsden grant to run two studies investigating the connection between our conscious and hidden thoughts, by collecting data from high-risk violent criminals.

The Fast-Start programme is a Marsden Fund initiative to give emerging researchers an opportunity to explore an innovative idea, developing their capabilities and helping them establish their research career.

One technique Dr Polaschek will use is to turn a conventional paper-based violence questionnaire into a computer-based task, which will allow her to untangle the relationship between explicit and hidden thoughts, and to look at the effect rehabilitation programmes have on both of these types of cognition. This research will help us to better understand the links between attitudes, violence, and rehabilitation.

Total Funding:    $140,000 Fast-Start
Researchers:    Dr Devon Polaschek, School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington.
Associates:    Professor Robert Knight, University of Otago