Morality, Deterrability, and Offender Decision Making

Herman, Shaina; Pogarsky, Greg

doi:10.1080/07418825.2019.1709884

Cited by 33 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Control theorists, Gottfredson and Hirschi (2020:120) note, "We could not manage in the world if we had to decide, through conscious deliberation and weighing of costs and consequences, every possible course of action; humans need mechanisms to rapidly and without disruption distinguish the good things from the bad things, the appropriate from the inappropriate, the dangerous from the safe, friends from foes." A similar idea is found in SAT's notion of "moral filtering" (Brauer and Tittle 2017;Etzioni 1988;Herman and Pogarsky 2020;Wikströ m 2019). According to Wikströ m et al (2012:19), " .…”

Section: Morality Is Intuitivesupporting

confidence: 58%

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The Nature and Role of Morality in Offending: A Moral Foundations Approach

Silver

2020

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

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Objectives: Criminologists have long viewed morality as a critical element in offending. However, two factors limit the theoretical impact of prior work. First, no overarching framework for describing the nature and role of morality has been developed. Second, morality has been measured in a narrow manner as the extent to which individuals disapprove of particular acts of offending. To address these limitations, we examine the utility of a moral psychological framework—Moral Foundations Theory (MFT)—that fits remarkably well with the conceptions of morality found in criminological theorizing (i.e., that morality inhibits offending, has intuitive and pluralistic dimensions, and under certain circumstances may motivate offending). Methods: We use negative binomial regression to model self-reported counts of violence, group violence, theft, property damage, marijuana use, and illegal phone use while driving, in a large national sample of Icelandic youths (n = 10,710). Results: We find that individualizing moral intuitions centered on rights and autonomy and binding moral intuitions centered on social order and cohesion are uniquely associated with different types of offending and exhibit inhibiting or motivating effects depending on the outcome. Conclusion: MFT holds considerable promise as a framework for conducting criminological research on the relationship between morality and offending.

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Section: Morality Is Intuitivesupporting

confidence: 58%

“…Another important idea that has emerged from within criminology in recent years and for which our study has implications is "moral filtering" (Brauer and Tittle 2017;Herman and Pogarsky 2020;Wikström 2019). As discussed above, Wikström et al (2012) argues that " .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Nature and Role of Morality in Offending: A Moral Foundations Approach

Silver

2020

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

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“…We administered an online survey during the fall of 2019 to a nationwide sample of adult (18 and older) U.S. residents. The participants for the current study were recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), a widely used source of data in academic research (e.g., Barnum & Solomon, 2019; Dowling & Wichowsky, 2015; Herman & Pogarsky, 2020; Pogarsky et al., 2017; Ratner et al., 2014). Furthermore, Coppock et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sanction risk perceptions, coherence, and deterrence^*

2021

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Research from environmental criminology, policing, and related literatures consistently finds that objective conditions related to risk of apprehension affect crime. The mechanism underlying this relationship is not explicitly tested; instead, perceptual deterrence is assumed. In this analysis we explicitly investigate that mechanism. This test is not straightforward, however, as some research shows that risk perceptions are susceptible to various cognitive biases and framing effects. Thus, we advance a framework of sanction risk perception that combines individual and contextual determinants. Specifically, we investigate whether contextual factors materially influence risk perceptions and in turn intentions to offend after accounting for the influence of individual‐specific determinants. Our data come from an experimental survey on speeding (N = 1,919). Respondents viewed videos from the driver's perspective of a sedan speeding on a highway and provided estimates of sanction risk, safety perceptions, and behavioral intentions. Although sanction risk and safety perceptions for speeding varied widely across respondents, they remained grounded in the objective conditions of the experimental videos. In turn, citizen perceptions of apprehension risk were comparable with risk estimates elicited from state troopers after viewing the same videos. The results suggest deterrence and safety considerations are important contributing factors that help shape intentions to transgress.

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“…This naturally draws attention to the moral values of each member of the community. One of the vital moral values is the sense of property [12][13][14]. Newman insisted on the importance of extending proprietary attitudes beyond one's apartment doors [11, p. 306].…”

Section: The Routine Activity Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral Truth and Criminology: Back to Its Classical Roots

Alexandre

2021

Russian Journal of Criminology

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This paper argues for the relevance of classical criminology for addressing contemporary problems of the criminal justice system. Despite many fundamental differences in political and cultural contexts, the central themes of classical criminology continue to be relevant for our time. One such theme is the criticism of criminal law for imposing very harsh penalties. Penalties become cruel if they produce fear rather than moral responsibility. Criminal laws based on fear rather than conscience and reason are the expressions of political tyranny. The importance of developing moral responsibility has been reflected in a number of contemporary criminological theories. They, however, differ from classical criminology in one important aspect. Contemporary criminology, even though accepting the importance of morality in preventing crimes, does not affirm the existence of a moral truth. Classical criminology, as developed by Beccaria and Bentham, is based on a belief in moral truth as the criterion for evaluating contemporary institutions of criminal law. One instance of moral truth is that crimes are acts of free will. In contrast, many contemporary criminological theories do not recognize the concept of free will, which still remains the underlying principle of responsibility in criminal law. Rational choice theory is an exception. The paper highlights some shortcomings of the classical and rational choice theories from the viewpoint of a criminal law theorist. However, these shortcomings do not reduce the overriding importance of the unity of law, morals, and criminology. In order to reach a greater unity between the disciplines of criminology and criminal law, there is a need for the return to, and the acceptance of the main ethical tenets of classical criminology.

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Morality, Deterrability, and Offender Decision Making

Cited by 33 publications

References 84 publications

The Nature and Role of Morality in Offending: A Moral Foundations Approach

The Nature and Role of Morality in Offending: A Moral Foundations Approach

Sanction risk perceptions, coherence, and deterrence^*

Moral Truth and Criminology: Back to Its Classical Roots

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Morality, Deterrability, and Offender Decision Making

Cited by 33 publications

References 84 publications

The Nature and Role of Morality in Offending: A Moral Foundations Approach

The Nature and Role of Morality in Offending: A Moral Foundations Approach

Sanction risk perceptions, coherence, and deterrence*

Moral Truth and Criminology: Back to Its Classical Roots

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Sanction risk perceptions, coherence, and deterrence^*