Neuroscience has been able to establish the main cognitive characteristics of an abuser in a romantic relationship, which do not correspond to a specific sex, also apply to men and women, characteristics that do not appear to be related to women or men, but to the functioning of the brain.
Of course, in the phenomenon of domestic violence, social, cultural and psychological aspects are very influential, however, the frequent use of such behaviors forms specific neural connections and a singular treatment of thoughts, so we are talking about the cognitive. characteristics of an abuser.
- Through several studies.
- Science has been able to establish that abusers tend to have cognitive distortions.
- Misguided mental patterns that are used to interpret the facts.
- Hence a list of the main cognitive characteristics of an aggressor was drawn up.
“Accepting a first abuse is the beginning of a long humiliation. I love you, can’t they abuse you?
In a study carried out at the University of the Basque Country, 11 studies prior to 180 euros were evaluated and applied in prison. From there, it could be concluded that there were recurrent cognitive distortions in the aggressors.
These cognitive distortions serve to rationalize or justify socially reprehensible behaviors, something like having a convincing explanation of the reasons for the abuse, making it logical and acceptable behavior. The main cognitive distortions observed were:
Several studies have established other cognitive characteristics of an abuser, have to do with characteristics that are often found in people who make aggression a common way to treat their partner, the most relevant are:
Similarly, Holtzworth and Munroe devised a typology of the aggressors, their study based solely on the cognitive characteristics of a male abuser, as they used a group of men for their research; however, the results apply to many women.
It is important to note that while the cognitive characteristics of an abuser have been defined, to date there is no fully conclusive inventory in this regard, as well as research supporting what is described above, there are others that have significant variations.
It is worth mentioning that the brain is an organ of great plasticity, that is, events, experiences, learning, etc. , can generate significant changes. Therefore, we cannot say that a person has fixed or immutable features, human beings are dynamic.
On the other hand, in these types of phenomena, the cultural environment and previous experiences tend to be more important, so it is not uncommon for an abused person to become an aggressor when conditions allow, in addition, there are environments that are tolerant or permissive to aggression.
Remember that while we all have aggressive impulses since we were born, they are shaped and eventually shaped according to the education we receive, rather than denouncing to particular types of people what needs to be done is to eradicate certain styles of education and education that teach them aggression. abuse, using them as valuable ways to get what the other person wants.