Perceiving Crime As Alternative
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Perceiving crime as alternative?
In the past 200 years, many explanations have been given for rule-breaking behavior. A classic idea, that was developed during the Enlightenment, was that crime should be understood as the outcome of a rational choice process. While much criticism exists with regard to rational choice theories, the fact remains that humans deliberate when committing acts. This process of deliberation deserves attention in etiological research, despite the fact that some of the assumptions of rational choice theories do not hold. This is exactly what this book is all about. This book is the result of an innovative attempt to study criminal decision-making using a less studied method in criminological inquiries, namely randomized scenario studies. A randomized scenario study combines the principles of survey research with ideas that are central in experimental design. This book is an elaboration of a dissertation written by Benjamin Van Damme, who personally developed an internet application for randomized scenario studies that can be used to test ideas developed in theories of crime causation. This dissertation is part of a larger research initiative of Lieven Pauwels, who supervised Benjamin Van Damme’s master dissertation, namely a study on the empirical status of situational action theory. Benjamin Van Damme and Lieven Pauwels empirically demonstrate that criminal decisionmaking can be seen as a perception-choice process, i.e. the result of person-environment interactions. Environmental characteristics trigger criminal decision-making, but only in individuals that see crime as an alternative. The theoretical and methodological consequences for criminological inquiries are discussed.
The Explanation of Crime
Author: Per-Olof H. Wikström
language: en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date: 2006-11-30
Integration of disciplines, theories and research orientations has assumed a central role in criminological discourse yet it remains difficult to identify any concrete discoveries or significant breakthroughs for which integration has been responsible. Concentrating on three key concepts: context, mechanisms, and development, this volume aims to advance integrated scientific knowledge on crime causation by bringing together different scholarly approaches. Through an analysis of the roles of behavioural contexts and individual differences in crime causation, The Explanation of Crime seeks to provide a unified and focused approach to the integration of knowledge. Chapter topics range from individual genetics to family environments and from ecological behaviour settings to the macro-level context of communities and social systems. This is a comprehensive treatment of the problem of crime causation that will appeal to graduate students and researchers in criminology and be of great interest to policy-makers and practitioners in crime policy and prevention.
Affect and Cognition in Criminal Decision Making
Research and theorizing on criminal decision making has not kept pace with recent developments in other fields of human decision making. Whereas criminal decision making theory is still largely dominated by cognitive approaches such as rational choice-based models, psychologists, behavioral economists and neuroscientists have found affect (i.e., emotions, moods) and visceral factors such as sexual arousal and drug craving, to play a fundamental role in human decision processes. This book examines alternative approaches to incorporating affect into criminal decision making and testing its influence on such decisions. In so doing it generalizes extant cognitive theories of criminal decision making by incorporating affect into the decision process. In two conceptual and ten empirical chapters it is carefully argued how affect influences criminal decisions alongside rational and cognitive considerations. The empirical studies use a wide variety of methods ranging from interviews and observations to experimental approaches and questionnaires, and treat crimes as diverse as street robbery, pilfering, and sex offences. It will be of interest to criminologists, social psychologists, judgment and decision making researchers, behavioral economists and sociologists alike.