Abstract
In an attempt to assess sex offenders' social perception in a heterosexual interaction, self-efficacy predictions were compared to actual performance during a conversation with a female confederate. Subjects were asked to indicate their ability and confidence in (1) introducing themselves, (2) starting the conversation, (3) asking questions, and (4) answering questions. Discrepancy scores, between how a subject predicted he would perform and how he actually performed, were significantly correlated with lower skill and higher anxiety ratings. This effect was stable for ratings made by the subject, confederate, or independent judges. Group differences portrayed high socioeconomic class males as the most accurate in their predictions. Rapists, as a group, did not differ from other low-socioeconomic-class males. Child molesters, however, had the largest discrepancy scores and showed particular difficulty in gauging their ability to answer the confederate's questions. Results from this investigation are discussed in terms of a differential perception of social cues by sex offenders, and the importance of cognitive variables in the assessment of social skill.
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The authors would like to acknowledge Drs. Joanne Rouleau and Paul Davidson for their support and assistance in completion of this study. Appreciation is also extended to Brian F. Shaw and T. Michael Vallis for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Partial support for this research was provided through Medical Research Council Grant No. MA-7719, awarded to the second author.
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Segal, Z.V., Marshall, W.L. Discrepancies between self-efficacy predictions and actual performance in a population of rapists and child molesters. Cogn Ther Res 10, 363–375 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173472
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173472