NCJ Number
208119
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 48 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2004 Pages: 664-682
Editor(s)
Adrienne Palermo R.N.
Date Published
December 2004
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study attempted to examine the applicability of the Emotional Recognition Test (ERT), a measure of emotional awareness, in a sample of Korean inmates.
Abstract
Measurement methods of emotion have been summarized into three categories: self-report, behavioral and cognitive indices, and psychophysiological indices. The self-report measurement has been the method most commonly used. The most common characteristic of self-reported emotional measures is that they assess the conscious parts of emotional understanding. The Emotional Recognition Test (ERT) was developed in 2001 as a concise and objective measure of emotional awareness. This study sought to examine emotional recognition in a group of 85 male inmates from 1 of the maximum-security prisons in Korea. Offenders’ emotional recognition capabilities were compared to a group of nonoffenders and a group of patients with schizophrenia. Results were analyzed in two ways: (1) overall group differences were analyzed on the ERT total score and three subscale scores and (2) characteristics of criterion groups were investigated on newly developed subscale scores measuring specific emotion. The analyses indicated that offenders in this sample performed emotional recognition tasks significantly worse than a non-criminal community sample. The results imply the importance of emotional processes among offenders. However, several limitations of the study are discussed. Overall, the study expands the knowledge of emotional perception deficits in criminal offenders and indicates that the newly developed ERT may be useful in a forensic population. Tables and references