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Research Activities
My predominant research interest is in human aggression and violent crime. Ongoing research generally falls into one or two different areas: First, my students and I conduct work within institutions of the Correctional Service of Canada, specifically looking at the cognitive characteristics of male offenders, and attempting to understand what factors predict good versus bad correctional outcomes (i.e. successful reintegration versus recidivism). This research is being conducted because although Canada has historically been a leader in the field of correctional rehabilitation, we currently approach programming in large part with a “one size fits all” mentality that does not reflect offender heterogeneity. Second, another line of current work is predicated on the continued understanding of the extent to which different drugs – predominantly alcohol -pharmacologically interfere with specific cognitive and social-perceptual processes. In the past, I have conducted several studies on the alcohol-aggression relationship, with the focus on preventative mechanisms (that is, why some people become aggressive when intoxicated and others do not), and that line of research is continuing.
I have also investigated sex differences in aggression, particularly whether men and women aggress differently, and in response to different types of provocation. Other on-going projects focus on the consequences of child maltreatment, and a study of women who have been victims of domestic violence. Associated interests include topics relating to forensic psychology, including drug and alcohol intoxication as an estimator variable in eyewitness accuracy, and intoxication as a moderator of memory phenomena.
In the 2011-2012 year, the Hoaken lab consists of myself; and
Doctoral Students Vanessa Hamill, Erin Ross, Megan Hancock,
and Jennifer Tapscott; Lab Co-Coordinator Leah Tobin; and Honors student Laura Moyer.
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