Social Preferences and Offender Decision Making

• In Event: Decision-Making, Quasi-Rational Choice, and Behavioral Economics

Abstract

Classical theories of criminology assume self-interest to be inherent, where individuals seek to maximize their own pleasure and minimize pain. There is however, very little discussion in criminology of social preferences toward fairness, prosocial or altruistic behavior—that is, instances where individuals may not choose to fully maximize their own benefits. Through incorporating measures common within behavioral economics, we seek to explore heterogeneity in social preferences between and within distinct samples and draw greater theoretical and empirical understanding of factors which may be associated with social preferences

Authors

• Mamayek Chae, University of Maryland

• Thomas Loughran, University of Maryland

• Raymond Paternoster, University of Maryland