La reconnaissance des émotions chez les auteurs de violence sexuelle : approche différentielle et mise en rapport avec le niveau de conscience de l’acte

Abstract

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to show that it is primordial to consider the degree of identification to the other by analyzing the way emotions are treated if one wants to properly evaluate the nature of the coming out. Whether the right set of emotion is activated or not in a subject will allow the differentiation between an unmotivated coming out, an impulsive behavior or a finalized intentional conduct. Our theoretical approach uses both the fields of linguistics and clinical psychology; it is applied to a population of sexual offenders, authors of sexual violence. MethodIn a psychological expert assessment, the instruction of the WAIS-R subtest “Arrangement d’Images’ were changed to “tell a story” from a chronological series of images that is shown to the subject. By this new instruction, we acquired a series of texts that became our database. This procedure is applied to 40 serious sexual male offenders charged with criminal acts. In the story they tell, a “pattern of emotional states” shows the emotional axis of the fictional characters; these emotions are displayed through clear and straightforward gestures and postures. ResultsThree groups of subjects were identified: (E1) absence of emotional participation or presence of inadequate emotions that cause unmotivated actions; (E3) presence of an orientated emotional participation in order to manipulate; and (E2) right emotional response used to act accordingly. The level of “self emotional conscience” and the aptitude of empathy contribute to the consciousness a subject has in regards to his behavior: partial, total or absent.