Analyses of deviant sexual behaviors have most often derived from psychodynamic or behavioral theory. Little systematic research attention has been paid to the role of intervening cognitive variables such as social perception and the causal attribution process. Two studies were conducted to examine differences in cognition between child molesters and control groups. The first study explored causal attributions for sexual arousal in 19 child molesters in court-order outpatient treatment and 19 non-pedophilic adult males. The results revealed that molesters perceived their sexual arousal as being internally caused and more stable over time, when compared to controls. The second study examined gender identity perception by operationally defining the quality of perceptions of gender through the production of human figure drawings. Subjects were 23 child molesters and 28 male college students. Results from the second study showed that molesters' view of themselves and of women differed from the views held by male college students. Specifically, molesters appeared to perceive themselves as smaller and less powerful than women and to exhibit confusion regarding gender differentiation. The findings from both studies suggest that child molesters may experience and think about sex in a significantly different way from sexually non-deviant men. (Author/NB)