When Thinking Leads to Doing: The Relationship Between Fantasy and Reality in Sexual Offending (From Violent and Sexual Offenders: Assessment, Treatment and Management, P 235-256, 2009, Jane L. Ireland, Carol A. Ireland, and Philip Birch, eds. -- See NCJ-227476)

• NCJ Number: 227486
• Author(s): Tim Jones; David Wilson
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter examines the linkage between 'thinking' and 'doing', specifically the understanding of the transition of sexual fantasies into reality, that of sexual offending.

Abstract

Sexual fantasies best represent one's most uninhibited thoughts, aspirations, and desires, where criticism, taboo, and embarrassment are invited only by the self. The immersion into 'our own world' provides the opportunity to purely fantasize about one's most erotic desires, which for the majority are without malice, intentional hurt or damage. However, for a minority such thoughts are the gateway to offending behavior. The offending space model attempts to map the contours between thinking and doing, and to uncover the unique interrelationship between thought and behavior. If fantasies remained purely in the psychological space then offending should not occur, but the underlying processes prevent fantasies from residing purely in the psychological space. The tendency for fantasies to transit into physicality is arguably more likely to occur than ever before because fantasies are supported by an ever growing space, the virtual space. Understanding the role of virtual spaces is crucial in understanding the relationship between thinking and doing. Figure and references