Context and the Decision to Offend

• In Event: Context, Virtual Reality and Decision Making

Abstract

Criminology has increasingly emphasized the role of context in crime decisions. Interest has ranged from inanimate neighborhood environments to social and moral dynamics related to the presence of other persons during crime opportunities. Recent research suggests that introducing additional context into an offending situation generally increases the projected likelihood of offending. This study investigates this phenomenon further, and also advances several theoretical mechanisms to help explain it.

Authors

• Greg Pogarsky, University at Albany, SUNY

• Shaina Herman, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

• Jean-Louis van Gelder, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law