NCJ Number
209957
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2005 Pages: 269-295
Date Published
May 2005
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study examined the extent to which offenders and non-offenders differ in their social and perceptual judgments/decisionmaking.
Abstract
Because there is little research addressing this issue, the question presented in this study is whether criminals and non-criminals think differently. The study exposed active, violent offenders and non-offenders to ambiguous videotaped social stimuli (Point Light Display-PLD) in a laboratory setting and measured their perceptions and judgments of the interactants within those displays. Of interest, was the extent to which offenders and non-offenders were differentially attuned to threat, conflict, and vulnerability in these PLDs. The study was conducted as a quasi-experimental between-subject design with repeated measures on two factors; velocity and aggressivity/hostility-related questionnaire items. The data support a clear distinction between the groups. Across a variety of measures, both quantitative and qualitative, offenders and non-offenders differed in their perceptions of the PLDs along dimensions related to crime, physical confrontation, and hostility. In conclusion, the perceptual biases of individuals, conditioned by where they live and what they do, is most likely a small part of what causes or mitigates criminal behavior, but research of this nature can contribute to our knowledge of offender decisionmaking by identifying the extent to which offenders and non-offenders are different from one another. References