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    The operation of confirmation bias : discourse analysis of witnesses' evidence about the conduct of a sexual abuser : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Bourne, S.
    Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias where beliefs formed at an early stage are unreasonably sustained even in the face of new information that makes those beliefs untenable or at least questionable. In these circumstances, new information that does not fit with the earlier-formed beliefs may be ignored, while information supporting those beliefs is accepted readily as lending credence to them. During 2010 and 2011, Jonathan Lord was employed by the YMCA in New South Wales, Australia, until a child disclosed that he had been inappropriate touched by Mr Lord. This led to Mr Lord being convicted of 13 representative offences including multiple aggravated indecent assault charges and two counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, relating to 12 children enrolled in the YMCA Before and After School Care service. Subsequently, several of the children's parents, and some of Mr Lord's YMCA co-workers, gave evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that was conducted in Australia from 2012 to 2017. This study shows how confirmation bias may lead to tragic or destructive outcomes in some circumstances. The use of discourse analysis in this study has afforded a 'micro context' understanding of how Mr Lord's abuse of children associated with the YMCA service persisted undetected for more than a year, despite Mr Lord breaching YMCA rules and being observed engaging in other questionable conduct regarding children in that period.
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    An evaluation of the effectiveness of an empathy training module for child sex offenders : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2006) Smith, Tracy Vannessa
    The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an empathy training module for treatment of child sexual offenders incarcerated at a New Zealand Special Treatment Unit. Twenty-eight participants volunteered for the study which involved three time conditions; pre-intervention, post-intervention and three-month follow-up. Three measures were used to assess generalised empathy and victim-specific empathy in this sample. No significant results were found, although preliminary data did suggest that this sample may differ from previous studies on the victim-specific measure. Namely, contrary to previous research the sample demonstrated the greatest empathy deficit for the child accident victim, rather than their own victims. The current study had a number of limitations, including methodological errors that make the generalisation of results unfeasible.
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    Factors which influence the decision of sexual offenders against children to attend a sex offender treatment programme at Te Piriti or Kia Marama : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Norrie, Joan
    Treatment of individuals who sexually offend against children has been shown to be associated with reductions in recidivism both in New Zealand, (Johnston, 1996) and overseas (Gendreau, 1996). Laven (1993) and Jury (1993) found in two New Zealand studies of incarcerated child sex offenders that when they were offered treatment to help them address their offending they more often than not declined. Barbaree (1991) noted that offenders often present as denying, minimising, rationalising or being vague about their sexual offending behaviours. Treatment for incarcerated individuals who have sexually offended against children is provided by the New Zealand Department of Corrections Psychological Service specialist prison-based Child Sex Offender Treatment Programme at Auckland (Te Piriti) and Christchurch (Kia Marama). However, participation in the programme is voluntary. The main purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a motivational and educational pretherapy intervention, First Step, on factors such as Stage of Change and Victim Empathy which were believed to be associated with the decision to seek entry to the Sex Offender Treatment Programme. A secondary purpose was to investigate which factors the child sex offenders considered while making their decision to seek or decline treatment in the programme. The subjects were 104 male incarcerated offenders convicted of sexual offences against children under the age of sixteen years. They were resident in one of three minimum security prisons, Tongariro/Rangipo, Ohura and Waikeria, New Zealand. All of the subjects were referred by the prison Case Management Committee to Department of Corrections, Psychological Service for assessment when they arrived in the prison. Of the total of 104 participants, 39 attended First Step. The other 65 were involved in a related study (Knowles, 1997) at Waikeria Prison. They were included to provide additional information on select issues related to helpseeking. Participation was voluntary and access to the First Step programme was not contingent on participation in the study. Also, there were no custodial consequences (e. g., temporary paroles or early release) contingent on participation in the study. The design for the treatment portion of the study was a two by two factorial, repeated measures design with two conditions, a wait-list control and a treatment condition (First Step). An assessment of treatment readiness and victim-specific empathy was made using the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) questionnaire based on Prochaska, DiClemente et al's (1982, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1995) Transtheoretical Stages of Change model and Marshall et al's (1995) Person Specific Empathy Scale which were administered at pre and post wait-list and treatment conditions. The results of this study provide important data for enhancing our understanding of the effects of a pre therapy intervention on motivation and of the factors that influence the incarcerated child sex offender's decision to seek entry to a Sex Offender Treatment Programme. There was evidence that the motivational and educational intervention, the First Step programme, had an influence on the way that the offenders thought about their offending behaviour. In particular, this was supported by a general pattern of movement through the Stages of Change as illustrated by changes in the numbers of offenders in identified Stages of Change clusters. The support for First Step further buttresses Barbaree (1991) and O'Donohue and LeTourneau (1993) proposals for the necessity, particularly in cases where the problem is denied, for a pre-treatment intervention designed to encourage a frame of mind that is more amenable to treatment entry and compliance. Some positive treatment produced changes were also noted on the empathy scale. Apart from a motivational intervention, other factors identified by the sample as being influential in the treatment-seeking decision-making process included both internal (e. g., desire for self improvement, acceptance of responsibility for the offending, denial of offending, fear and shame) and external (e. g., awareness of treatment procedures at the Sex Offender Treatment Programme, family support and custody conditions) factors. The discussion focuses on future use of pretherapy, motivational interventions and the integration of such factors.