Kevin Nunes

Research Interests

The focus of research in the Aggressive Cognitions and Behaviour Research (ACBR) Laboratory is on the conceptualization and measurement of cognitions—such as attitudes—thought to be relevant to violent behaviour, and the role these cognitions may play in violent behaviour. Our main goal is to contribute to scientific knowledge about the causes of violence, which provides the foundation for effective and efficient assessment and intervention aimed at reducing violence.

In our research we most often use cross-sectional, retrospective, and randomized experimental research designs. Our studies have been conducted online, in the lab, federal and provincial prisons, and forensic psychiatric hospitals. Most of our projects have involved collecting data directly from participants (students, people in the community, inmates, or patients), but we also sometimes use archival datasets or conduct meta-analytic reviews of the literature. Our work has been funded by grants and awards from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, and Carleton University.

Research projects planned for the next few years will focus on attitudes toward violence in online studies with university students and men from the general public. In these projects, we will continue to develop, evaluate, and refine measures and experimental manipulations; explore the relationship between attitudes, other important violence predictors/correlates, and violent/aggressive behaviour.

Some of our current collaborators are Justin Carré (Nipissing University), Liam Ennis (University of Alberta), Leandre Fabrigar (Queen’s University), Chantal Hermann (Ministry of the Solicitor General of Ontario), Zoe Hilton (Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care), Sandy Jung (MacEwan University), Sacha Maimone (The Royal), Pedro Pechorro (University of Algarve), Chloe Pedneault (Government of Canada), Anna Pham (Government of Canada), Devon Polaschek (University of Waikato), and John Zelenski (Carleton University).

For more information about people and projects in the ACBR lab, please see our website:   www.carleton.ca/acbrlab

Sample Publications Reflecting Current Research Focus (student co-authors in bold)

Nunes, K. L., Pedneault, C. I., Hermann, C. A., & Fraser, J. (2023). Do violent attitude measures assess evaluative attitudes toward violence? Psychology of Violence, 3(4), 348-359. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/vio0000470

Nunes, K. L., Pedneault, C. I., & Hermann, C. A. (2022). Do attitudes toward violence affect violent behavior? Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma, 31(7), 835-850. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2021.2019158

Nunes, K. L., Pedneault, C. I., & Hermann, C. A. (2021). The Evaluation of Violence Questionnaire (EVQ): Development and validity of a self-report measure of evaluative attitudes toward violence. Psychology of Violence, 11, 591-600. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/vio0000388

Nunes, K. L., Hermann, C. A., Maimone, S., Atlas, M., & Grant, B. A. (2021). The Violent Behavior Vignette Questionnaire (VBVQ): A measure of violent behavior for research in forensic and non-forensic settings and populations. Psychological Reports, 124, 1863-1896. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120939308

Nunes, K. L., Hermann, C. A., Maimone, S., & Woods, M. (2015). Thinking clearly about violent cognitions: Attitudes may be distinct from other cognitions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30, 1322-1347. doi: 10.1177/0886260514540329