Paul Rogers | University of Brighton (original) (raw)

Papers by Paul Rogers

Journal of interpersonal violence, 2015

Despite its pervasive and detrimental nature, sibling violence (SV) remains marginalized as a har... more Despite its pervasive and detrimental nature, sibling violence (SV) remains marginalized as a harmless and inconsequential form of familial aggression. The present study investigates the extent to which perceptions of SV differ from those of other types of interpersonal violence. A total of 605 respondents (197 males, 408 females) read one of four hypothetical physical assault scenarios that varied according to perpetrator-victim relationship type (i.e., sibling vs. dating partner vs. peer vs. stranger) before completing a series of 24 attribution items. Respondents also reported on their own experiences of interpersonal violence during childhood. Exploratory factor analysis reduced 23 attribution items to three internally reliable factors reflecting perceived assault severity, victim culpability, and victim resistance ratings. A 4 × 2 MANCOVA-controlling for respondent age-revealed several significant effects. Overall, males deemed the assault less severe and the victim more culpab...

Consciousness and Cognition, 2019

Consciousness and cognition, Jan 7, 2018

This study examines the extent to which belief in extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (P... more This study examines the extent to which belief in extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK) or life after death (LAD), plus need for cognition (NFC) and faith in intuition (FI), predict the generation of confirmatory conjunction errors. An opportunity sample (n = 261) completed sixteen conjunction problems manipulated across a 2 event type (paranormal vs. non-paranormal) × 2 outcome type (confirmatory vs. disconfirmatory) within subjects design. Three Generalised Linear Mixed Models - one per paranormal belief type - were performed. With respondent gender and age controlled for, ESP, PK and LAD beliefs were all associated with the making (vs. non-making) of conjunction errors both generally and specifically for confirmatory conjunctive outcomes. Event type had no impact. Individuals high in NFC were less likely to commit the fallacy. The role thinking style plays in shaping paranormal believers' susceptibility to confirmatory conjunction biases is discussed. Methodologic...

Consciousness and cognition, Nov 1, 2017

The present study examines the extent to which stronger belief in either extrasensory perception,... more The present study examines the extent to which stronger belief in either extrasensory perception, psychokinesis or life-after-death is associated with a proneness to making conjunction errors (CEs). One hundred and sixty members of the UK public read eight hypothetical scenarios and for each estimated the likelihood that two constituent events alone plus their conjunction would occur. The impact of paranormal belief plus constituents' conditional relatedness type, estimates of the subjectively less likely and more likely constituents plus relevant interaction terms tested via three Generalized Linear Mixed Models. General qualification levels were controlled for. As expected, stronger PK beliefs and depiction of a positively conditionally related (verses conditionally unrelated) constituent pairs predicted higher CE generation. ESP and LAD beliefs had no impact with, surprisingly, higher estimates of the less likely constituent predicting fewer - not more - CEs. Theoretical impl...

Personality and Individual Differences, 2016

This study examines the degree to which varieties of childhood maltreatment (in)directly predict ... more This study examines the degree to which varieties of childhood maltreatment (in)directly predict adult paranormal and New Age worldviews. Mediation analyses were performed with maltreatment types serving as potential predictors, facets of fantasy proneness as potential mediators and aspects of adult paranormality (anomalous experiences, beliefs, abilities and fears) plus a general New Age orientation as five separate criteria measures. Several hypotheses were (partially) supported. First, child sexual abuse directly predicted more selfreported anomalous experiences, with parental threats of rejection directly predicting fewer anomalous fears in adulthood. Second, indirect relationships between childhood neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and instrumental parentification emerged for all criteria except anomalous fears, with these relationships mediated by at least one facet of fantasy proneness; either vivid/realistic and/or make-believe fantasizing. These findings are consistent with Irwin's (2009) Psychodynamic Functions Hypothesis; the notion that adult paranormality offers an adaptive, needs-serving mechanism for coping with sense of diminished control often stemming from childhood trauma. Contrary to Irwin's model, childhood physical abuse, emotional parentification and parental threats of both abandonment and punishment failed to predict any outcome measure either directly or via more pronounced fantasizing. Theoretical implications, methodological issues and ideas for future research are discussed.

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2016

The Journal of Forensic Practice, 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact victim symptomology, victim resi... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact victim symptomology, victim resistance and respondent gender have on attributions of blame, credibility and perceived assault severity in a hypothetical child sexual abuse case. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 356 respondents read a hypothetical child sexual abuse scenario in which victim symptomology (negative vs none vs positive) and victim resistance (resistant vs non-resistant) were manipulated before completing six childhood sexual abuse (CSA) attribution items. The impact these manipulations plus respondent gender differences had on attributions ratings was explored via a series of AN(C)OVA. Findings – Overall, respondents judged the victim more truthful if she displayed negative – as opposed to either no or positive (i.e. life affirming) – symptomology and a resistant victim to be more truthful than one who offered no resistance. Finally, men deemed a 14-year-old female victim of sexual assault less reli...

International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 2009

... female) have on attributions of blame and credibility in a hypothetical case of child sexual ... more ... female) have on attributions of blame and credibility in a hypothetical case of child sexual abuse. Three hundred and thirty‐five respondents read a fictional police statement regarding the sexualassault of a 12‐year‐old girl by a 23‐year‐old man before completing 28 ...

Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 2007

This study explores individual differences in people claiming to have been abducted by aliens. A ... more This study explores individual differences in people claiming to have been abducted by aliens. A sample of 26 alien abductee experiencers (AAErs) plus 26 non-AAEr controls completed self-report measures of fantasy proneness, emotional intelligence, and the big five personality factors. Analysis of Covariance controlling of participants' level of educational attainment revealed no group differences in any of the three fantasy sub-scales (the vividness/realism of fantasies, escapist fantasies, and make-believe fantasies), any of the four EI sub-scales (optimism/mood regulation, the appraisal of emotions, social skills, and the utilization of emotions) or in four of the big five personality factors examined. However, AAErs did rate themselves to be more conscientious than controls, possibly in an attempt to portray themselves as trustworthy and reliable witnesses. Implications for the psychological study of alien abduction experiences are discussed.

Personality and Individual Differences, 2006

Previous research suggests that belief in the paranormal serves as a mechanism for coping with st... more Previous research suggests that belief in the paranormal serves as a mechanism for coping with stress (Irwin, 1992) and that it is positively associated with high emotional intelligence or EI (Dudley, 2002). The present study extends this research by examining the extent to which coping strategy predicts, and EI moderates, belief in the paranormal. A general population sample of 253

Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2009

... Analysis also confirmed (c) that males attributed more victim blame generally than did female... more ... Analysis also confirmed (c) that males attributed more victim blame generally than did females (p <.001). No other significant effects were found. Discussion. ... Davies, M. Rogers, P. Attributions towards victims and perpetrators in a child sexual abuse case: Roles of ...

The Journal of Social Psychology, 2011

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 2007

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 2011

Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 2011

In this study the authors examine the effect respondent gender, victim age, and offender treatmen... more In this study the authors examine the effect respondent gender, victim age, and offender treatment programs have upon public attitudes towards sex offenders. A community sample of 235 participants were asked to read a hypothetical vignette involving the sexual assault of a 10-, 15-, or 20-year-old female by a 35-year-old male who subsequently completed either a sex offender treatment or

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2010

The present study examines the effects of victim age, victim physical maturity, and respondent ge... more The present study examines the effects of victim age, victim physical maturity, and respondent gender on attributions toward victims, perpetrator, and the nonoffending members of the victim’s family in a hypothetical child sexual abuse (CSA) case. Participants read a brief CSA vignette in which the male perpetrator (a school caretaker) sexually abuses a student in the school changing rooms. The victim was depicted as either a 12- or 15-year-old girl who, in terms of physical maturity, was either pre- or postpubescent. Separate 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVAs were performed on the dependent variables. Results conformed broadly to the study’s predictions with younger victims being viewed more negatively than older victims and the victim’s physical appearance being viewed as more encouraging of CSA for the younger than for the older girl. Female participants were more likely to endorse the belief that the younger victim should have fought back and that the prepubescent 15-year-old victim should have ...

Journal of Family Violence, 2007

Abstract The present study examines the impact abuse type, family response, and respondent gender... more Abstract The present study examines the impact abuse type, family response, and respondent gender have on attributions of blame in a hypothetical child sexual abuse (CSA) case. Three hundred and ninety three respondents read a hypothet-ical CSA scenario describing the ...

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2009

The present study examines cross-cultural differences in the Barnum effect. At Stage 1 of the stu... more The present study examines cross-cultural differences in the Barnum effect. At Stage 1 of the study, 287 respondents (comprising 149 Westerners and 138 Chinese nationals) provided birth details and completed a belief-in-astrology questionnaire. At Stage 2 a week later, 258 of these (130 Westerners, 128 Chinese) then completed a second belief-in-astrology questionnaire before receiving a Barnum profile supposedly derived from either Western or Chinese astrology, which they rated for, among other things, perceived accuracy (a) for themselves and (b) for other people in general. Preliminary analysis offered initial support for a universal Barnum effect. However, this disappeared after respondent gender, age, general education, and psychological knowledge were controlled for. Further analyses revealed little support for cross-cultural differences in either astrological beliefs or susceptibility to the Barnum effect, although surprisingly, Chinese nationals who believed in astrology did ...

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2009

This study investigated perceptions of child sexual abuse in a hypothetical cybersexploitation ca... more This study investigated perceptions of child sexual abuse in a hypothetical cybersexploitation case. Men were predicted to be more negative toward the victim than were women. Victims were predicted to be more negatively judged when they consented to sex than when they did not and when they were lied to than when they were not. Two hundred and seventy-six respondents read a sexual abuse depiction in which the perpetrator's disclosure about his age (being honest from the outset, lying, or refusing to disclose when questioned) and the final outcome of the meeting (consensual verses nonconsensual sexual intercourse) were varied between subjects. Respondents then completed a 17-item attribution scale. ANOVAs revealed broad support for the predictions. Results have implications for education about cybercrime.

Journal of interpersonal violence, 2015

Despite its pervasive and detrimental nature, sibling violence (SV) remains marginalized as a har... more Despite its pervasive and detrimental nature, sibling violence (SV) remains marginalized as a harmless and inconsequential form of familial aggression. The present study investigates the extent to which perceptions of SV differ from those of other types of interpersonal violence. A total of 605 respondents (197 males, 408 females) read one of four hypothetical physical assault scenarios that varied according to perpetrator-victim relationship type (i.e., sibling vs. dating partner vs. peer vs. stranger) before completing a series of 24 attribution items. Respondents also reported on their own experiences of interpersonal violence during childhood. Exploratory factor analysis reduced 23 attribution items to three internally reliable factors reflecting perceived assault severity, victim culpability, and victim resistance ratings. A 4 × 2 MANCOVA-controlling for respondent age-revealed several significant effects. Overall, males deemed the assault less severe and the victim more culpab...

Consciousness and Cognition, 2019

Consciousness and cognition, Jan 7, 2018

This study examines the extent to which belief in extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (P... more This study examines the extent to which belief in extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK) or life after death (LAD), plus need for cognition (NFC) and faith in intuition (FI), predict the generation of confirmatory conjunction errors. An opportunity sample (n = 261) completed sixteen conjunction problems manipulated across a 2 event type (paranormal vs. non-paranormal) × 2 outcome type (confirmatory vs. disconfirmatory) within subjects design. Three Generalised Linear Mixed Models - one per paranormal belief type - were performed. With respondent gender and age controlled for, ESP, PK and LAD beliefs were all associated with the making (vs. non-making) of conjunction errors both generally and specifically for confirmatory conjunctive outcomes. Event type had no impact. Individuals high in NFC were less likely to commit the fallacy. The role thinking style plays in shaping paranormal believers' susceptibility to confirmatory conjunction biases is discussed. Methodologic...

Consciousness and cognition, Nov 1, 2017

The present study examines the extent to which stronger belief in either extrasensory perception,... more The present study examines the extent to which stronger belief in either extrasensory perception, psychokinesis or life-after-death is associated with a proneness to making conjunction errors (CEs). One hundred and sixty members of the UK public read eight hypothetical scenarios and for each estimated the likelihood that two constituent events alone plus their conjunction would occur. The impact of paranormal belief plus constituents' conditional relatedness type, estimates of the subjectively less likely and more likely constituents plus relevant interaction terms tested via three Generalized Linear Mixed Models. General qualification levels were controlled for. As expected, stronger PK beliefs and depiction of a positively conditionally related (verses conditionally unrelated) constituent pairs predicted higher CE generation. ESP and LAD beliefs had no impact with, surprisingly, higher estimates of the less likely constituent predicting fewer - not more - CEs. Theoretical impl...

Personality and Individual Differences, 2016

This study examines the degree to which varieties of childhood maltreatment (in)directly predict ... more This study examines the degree to which varieties of childhood maltreatment (in)directly predict adult paranormal and New Age worldviews. Mediation analyses were performed with maltreatment types serving as potential predictors, facets of fantasy proneness as potential mediators and aspects of adult paranormality (anomalous experiences, beliefs, abilities and fears) plus a general New Age orientation as five separate criteria measures. Several hypotheses were (partially) supported. First, child sexual abuse directly predicted more selfreported anomalous experiences, with parental threats of rejection directly predicting fewer anomalous fears in adulthood. Second, indirect relationships between childhood neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and instrumental parentification emerged for all criteria except anomalous fears, with these relationships mediated by at least one facet of fantasy proneness; either vivid/realistic and/or make-believe fantasizing. These findings are consistent with Irwin's (2009) Psychodynamic Functions Hypothesis; the notion that adult paranormality offers an adaptive, needs-serving mechanism for coping with sense of diminished control often stemming from childhood trauma. Contrary to Irwin's model, childhood physical abuse, emotional parentification and parental threats of both abandonment and punishment failed to predict any outcome measure either directly or via more pronounced fantasizing. Theoretical implications, methodological issues and ideas for future research are discussed.

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2016

The Journal of Forensic Practice, 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact victim symptomology, victim resi... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact victim symptomology, victim resistance and respondent gender have on attributions of blame, credibility and perceived assault severity in a hypothetical child sexual abuse case. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 356 respondents read a hypothetical child sexual abuse scenario in which victim symptomology (negative vs none vs positive) and victim resistance (resistant vs non-resistant) were manipulated before completing six childhood sexual abuse (CSA) attribution items. The impact these manipulations plus respondent gender differences had on attributions ratings was explored via a series of AN(C)OVA. Findings – Overall, respondents judged the victim more truthful if she displayed negative – as opposed to either no or positive (i.e. life affirming) – symptomology and a resistant victim to be more truthful than one who offered no resistance. Finally, men deemed a 14-year-old female victim of sexual assault less reli...

International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 2009

... female) have on attributions of blame and credibility in a hypothetical case of child sexual ... more ... female) have on attributions of blame and credibility in a hypothetical case of child sexual abuse. Three hundred and thirty‐five respondents read a fictional police statement regarding the sexualassault of a 12‐year‐old girl by a 23‐year‐old man before completing 28 ...

Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 2007

This study explores individual differences in people claiming to have been abducted by aliens. A ... more This study explores individual differences in people claiming to have been abducted by aliens. A sample of 26 alien abductee experiencers (AAErs) plus 26 non-AAEr controls completed self-report measures of fantasy proneness, emotional intelligence, and the big five personality factors. Analysis of Covariance controlling of participants' level of educational attainment revealed no group differences in any of the three fantasy sub-scales (the vividness/realism of fantasies, escapist fantasies, and make-believe fantasies), any of the four EI sub-scales (optimism/mood regulation, the appraisal of emotions, social skills, and the utilization of emotions) or in four of the big five personality factors examined. However, AAErs did rate themselves to be more conscientious than controls, possibly in an attempt to portray themselves as trustworthy and reliable witnesses. Implications for the psychological study of alien abduction experiences are discussed.

Personality and Individual Differences, 2006

Previous research suggests that belief in the paranormal serves as a mechanism for coping with st... more Previous research suggests that belief in the paranormal serves as a mechanism for coping with stress (Irwin, 1992) and that it is positively associated with high emotional intelligence or EI (Dudley, 2002). The present study extends this research by examining the extent to which coping strategy predicts, and EI moderates, belief in the paranormal. A general population sample of 253

Legal and Criminological Psychology, 2009

... Analysis also confirmed (c) that males attributed more victim blame generally than did female... more ... Analysis also confirmed (c) that males attributed more victim blame generally than did females (p <.001). No other significant effects were found. Discussion. ... Davies, M. Rogers, P. Attributions towards victims and perpetrators in a child sexual abuse case: Roles of ...

The Journal of Social Psychology, 2011

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 2007

Journal of Sexual Aggression, 2011

Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 2011

In this study the authors examine the effect respondent gender, victim age, and offender treatmen... more In this study the authors examine the effect respondent gender, victim age, and offender treatment programs have upon public attitudes towards sex offenders. A community sample of 235 participants were asked to read a hypothetical vignette involving the sexual assault of a 10-, 15-, or 20-year-old female by a 35-year-old male who subsequently completed either a sex offender treatment or

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2010

The present study examines the effects of victim age, victim physical maturity, and respondent ge... more The present study examines the effects of victim age, victim physical maturity, and respondent gender on attributions toward victims, perpetrator, and the nonoffending members of the victim’s family in a hypothetical child sexual abuse (CSA) case. Participants read a brief CSA vignette in which the male perpetrator (a school caretaker) sexually abuses a student in the school changing rooms. The victim was depicted as either a 12- or 15-year-old girl who, in terms of physical maturity, was either pre- or postpubescent. Separate 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVAs were performed on the dependent variables. Results conformed broadly to the study’s predictions with younger victims being viewed more negatively than older victims and the victim’s physical appearance being viewed as more encouraging of CSA for the younger than for the older girl. Female participants were more likely to endorse the belief that the younger victim should have fought back and that the prepubescent 15-year-old victim should have ...

Journal of Family Violence, 2007

Abstract The present study examines the impact abuse type, family response, and respondent gender... more Abstract The present study examines the impact abuse type, family response, and respondent gender have on attributions of blame in a hypothetical child sexual abuse (CSA) case. Three hundred and ninety three respondents read a hypothet-ical CSA scenario describing the ...

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2009

The present study examines cross-cultural differences in the Barnum effect. At Stage 1 of the stu... more The present study examines cross-cultural differences in the Barnum effect. At Stage 1 of the study, 287 respondents (comprising 149 Westerners and 138 Chinese nationals) provided birth details and completed a belief-in-astrology questionnaire. At Stage 2 a week later, 258 of these (130 Westerners, 128 Chinese) then completed a second belief-in-astrology questionnaire before receiving a Barnum profile supposedly derived from either Western or Chinese astrology, which they rated for, among other things, perceived accuracy (a) for themselves and (b) for other people in general. Preliminary analysis offered initial support for a universal Barnum effect. However, this disappeared after respondent gender, age, general education, and psychological knowledge were controlled for. Further analyses revealed little support for cross-cultural differences in either astrological beliefs or susceptibility to the Barnum effect, although surprisingly, Chinese nationals who believed in astrology did ...

Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2009

This study investigated perceptions of child sexual abuse in a hypothetical cybersexploitation ca... more This study investigated perceptions of child sexual abuse in a hypothetical cybersexploitation case. Men were predicted to be more negative toward the victim than were women. Victims were predicted to be more negatively judged when they consented to sex than when they did not and when they were lied to than when they were not. Two hundred and seventy-six respondents read a sexual abuse depiction in which the perpetrator's disclosure about his age (being honest from the outset, lying, or refusing to disclose when questioned) and the final outcome of the meeting (consensual verses nonconsensual sexual intercourse) were varied between subjects. Respondents then completed a 17-item attribution scale. ANOVAs revealed broad support for the predictions. Results have implications for education about cybercrime.