Spöa, sparka, slå och strypa: Kriminellas våldsattityder avslöjas med implicita mätningar

Attitudes towards violence were assessed using both implicit (The Single Category Implicit Association Test; Karpinski & Steinman, 2006) and explicit measurements (a Feeling Thermometer). A group of criminals showed more positive explicit and implicit attitudes towards violence than a group of non-criminals. In addition, The Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992) revealed significant differences in aggression between the groups; criminals' mean scores were higher on all four subscales (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility). Furthermore, significant correlations were found between all the measures, including the implicit and explicit attitude measures. The findings support the validity of the SC-IAT as an implicit measure of violent attitudes. It has previously been shown to be resistant to e.g. social desirability and self-presentation. Practical applications are discussed