Cognitive Approaches to the Assessment of Sexual Interest in Sexual Offenders

Book excerpt: Cognitive Approaches to the Assessment of Sexual Interest in Sexual Offenders examines the specific issue of cognitive approaches to the assessment of sexual interest in sex offenders. Chapters written by authorities in the field provide information for practitioners and researchers on methods of assessment that are primarily based on procedures developed in cognitive science. The methods are typically simple, straightforward, and require little time to administer and score. Used in combination they can provide convergent measures of a single phenomenon – sexual interest. Offering a broad approach to the subject, the book’s contents range from widely used means of assessment, such as questionnaires, to methods designed specifically for sexual assessment, for example, penile plethysmography. The book also encompasses innovative approaches, such as the Stroop test and the Implicit Association Test. Edited by two acknowledged experts in the research field of sex offending, this book is an outstanding contribution to the work of those engaged in practice and research aimed at preventing sex offending.