"A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THINKING STYLES OF THE HONOR KILLERS, OTHER OFFENDERS AND GENERAL POPULATION

Abstract

The study was designed to investigate the contributing force behind the heinous crime of honour killing. In this regard criminal thinking pattern of honour killers, other offenders and general population was assessed by using two samples. Sample 1 consisted of 72 incarcerated prisoners (26 honour killers and 46 other offenders/murderers who had killed people for other reasons than honour). Sample 2 was based on 302 subjects (126 male and 176 female) from general population. Personality profiles of transgressors (Sample 1) were examined through Neo Five factor Personality Inventory (translated Urdu version). They were further appraised on low/ high level of criminal thinking by administering “Texas Christian University Criminal Thinking Scale” (TCU – CTS, Translated Urdu version) and for evaluating their attitude towards honour killings an indigenous scale “Attitude towards honour killing” was used. Significant differences were observed among both the groups and criminal thinking was found to be a significant predictor of the positive attitude towards honour killing. Criminal thinking pattern of the general population and their attitude towards honour killing was also ascertained by the aforementioned instruments. The result determined association between criminal thinking and positive attitude towards honour killing in incarcerated population; however in general population the association was different. Among the general population in men, the correlation between criminal thinking and positive attitude towards honour killing was the same as the prisoners and in women the results indicated that there was no relationship between the two.

The persons who scored high on the criminal thinking scales i.e. TCU-CTS also had positive attitude towards honour killings. Criminal thinking style of the four groups, i.e. honour killers, other offenders / murderers, men and women, was different i.e. honour killers had higher criminal thinking followed by other offenders, men and women. Educated people in both the samples, criminals and general population, had more negative opinion toward honour killing than the less educated people.