Prosociality is considered important in the study of offenders and associated cognitive skills: theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning, are said to enable self-control and reduce the risk of offending behaviours. Previous research has made associations between these skills and executive functioning; however, research into a link between them, in an offending population, is limited. The paper aims to discuss this issue.,To further understand the practicalities of this, the present study considered the predictive abilities of the constructs believed to underpin executive functioning: working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, in relation to theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning. In total, 200 male and female offenders completed measures in all six constructs.,Using path analysis working memory was demonstrated to be predictive of theory of mind and empathic understanding, cognitive flexibility was found to be predictive of theory of mind, and inhibitory control was found to be predictive of theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning.,The study focussed on offenders serving a custodial sentence of six months or less and did not differentiate between crime categories or take into consideration the socio-environmental backgrounds or ethnicity. Therefore, considering these things could further establish the generalisability of the current findings. It is noted that the more focussed the intervention is to the specific needs of an offender, the greater the impact will be. Therefore, pre-screening tests for the constructs discussed may be able to more accurately assess an offenders’ suitability for a programme, or indeed tailor it to meet the specific needs of that person.,These findings may enable practitioners to more accurately assess offenders’ suitability for interventions aimed at reducing offending behaviours by improving levels of prosociality and develop more focussed programmes to meet the specific needs of individual offenders to reduce re-offending.,As recommended in the study, a more tailored approach to offender rehabilitation may be a potential aid to reducing levels of recidivism.,The present study adds to the literature as it is the first to consider whether the constructs of executive functioning can predict levels of theory of mind, empathic understanding and moral reasoning and so provide a more accurate method in assessing the cognitive abilities of offenders prior to participation in rehabilitative interventions.

中文翻译：

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行政人员的职能，作为犯罪行为的预测指标

在研究犯罪者和相关的认知技能时，亲社会性被认为是重要的：据称，心智理论，同理心理解和道德推理能够实现自我控制并减少违规行为的风险。先前的研究已经将这些技能与执行功能联系起来。然而，在犯罪人群中，对它们之间的联系的研究是有限的。本文旨在讨论此问题。为了进一步了解其实用性，本研究考虑了据信可支撑执行功能的结构的预测能力：工作记忆，认知灵活性和抑制控制，与心理理论，同理心相关理解和道德推理。在所有六个结构中，总共有200名男女罪犯完成了措施。使用路径分析可以证明工作记忆可以预测心理理论和移情理解，认知灵活性可以预测心理理论，而抑制性控制可以预测心理理论，移情理解和道德推理。该研究的重点是服刑六个月或更短的监禁罪犯，没有区分犯罪类别或未考虑社会环境背景或种族。因此，考虑这些因素可以进一步确定当前发现的普遍性。需要指出的是，干预措施越集中于罪犯的具体需求，其影响就会越大。所以，