Extending the mind into the world : a new theory of cognitive distortions in sex offenders

A recent trend in cognitive science and neuroscience has been the stress on the importance of human embodiment for cognitive development and the way external factors can be viewed as part of human beings' extended cognitive system (Clark, 2008; Johnson, 2007). Our aim in this paper is to present the extended mind theory (EMT) and outline its implications for understanding and treating cognitive distortions in sex offenders. We will first briefly examine the two most prominent theories of cognitive distortions in the sexual offending arena, Abel et al.'s (1984) post offense theory and Ward's (2000) implicit theory model. We will then examine their limitations and provide an overview of the EMT. Finally, we will apply the EMT to the sexual offending area and demonstrate the advantages of this novel conception of cognition.