Integrating States, Traits, and a Dual-process Approach with Criminal Decision-making Literature: Theoretical and Methodological Advancements
type: CreativeWork
description: When assessing what factors promote or deter criminal behavior, theories have primarily focused on: 1) distal, individual differences or 2) proximal, decision-making factors about perceived costs and benefits. By remaining independent, each approach limits its explanatory power. Methodologically, one of the primary ways of assessing criminal decision-making in the psychological literature is the written vignette approach. However, hypothetical scenarios may not accurately represent the circumstances under which people make real-life decisions, creating a potential intention-behavior gap. Furthermore, researchers tend to use closed-ended questions that assess factors that are deemed relevant to criminal decision-making, rather than allowing participants to naturally recall factors they themselves deemed important to their decision-making. Collectively, these limitations reduce the ecological validity of theories derived from such studies. Through a series of observational and experimental studies, this doctoral thesis advances the literature by integrating psychological and criminological theory. I align proximal with dual-process decision-making perspectives by including determinants such as emotions and norms and combine it with important individual differences. This thesis also offers novel methodological advancements by contrasting vignettes against immersive virtual reality and closed vs. open-ended responses. Using a large-scale survey, I first established a relationship between trait self-control, a dual-process model of decision-making, and criminal behavior. The results of which indicated that intuitive decision-making (traditionally unmodelled) is associated with criminal behavior (Chapter Two; McClanahan et al., 2019). Secondly, using a standard experimental ego-depletion task, I sought to examine how state self-control directly and indirectly influenced criminal behavior. Although participants were successfully depleted, there was no main effect of ego-de…
abstract: When assessing what factors promote or deter criminal behavior, theories have primarily focused on: 1) distal, individual differences or 2) proximal, decision-making factors about perceived costs and benefits. By remaining independent, each approach limits its explanatory power. Methodologically, one of the primary ways of assessing criminal decision-making in the psychological literature is the written vignette approach. However, hypothetical scenarios may not accurately represent the circumstances under which people make real-life decisions, creating a potential intention-behavior gap. Furthermore, researchers tend to use closed-ended questions that assess factors that are deemed relevant to criminal decision-making, rather than allowing participants to naturally recall factors they themselves deemed important to their decision-making. Collectively, these limitations reduce the ecological validity of theories derived from such studies. Through a series of observational and experimental studies, this doctoral thesis advances the literature by integrating psychological and criminological theory. I align proximal with dual-process decision-making perspectives by including determinants such as emotions and norms and combine it with important individual differences. This thesis also offers novel methodological advancements by contrasting vignettes against immersive virtual reality and closed vs. open-ended responses. Using a large-scale survey, I first established a relationship between trait self-control, a dual-process model of decision-making, and criminal behavior. The results of which indicated that intuitive decision-making (traditionally unmodelled) is associated with criminal behavior (Chapter Two; McClanahan et al., 2019). Secondly, using a standard experimental ego-depletion task, I sought to examine how state self-control directly and indirectly influenced criminal behavior. Although participants were successfully depleted, there was no main effect of ego-de…
author: McClanahan, William
language: eng
keywords: psychology, criminology, self-control, decision-making, vignettes, Virtual Reality, Emotions
license: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/7900a606-b6e8-45f2-81c6-a88518b22049/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2020-09-30
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:33:23Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.64577