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Research Article Synopsis On Crime And Propensity

1. What are the main findings in the literature review presented in the Introduction? (15)

The main findings in the literature review presented in the Introduction are that reports from these studies are contradictory in that some report a weak deterrent effect for those least likely to commit crime, whereas some a strong effect. The literature review found that there are three basic but conflicting answers to the question "Does the threat of punishment differ according to a person's motivation or propensity to commit crime?", that can be formulated from the literature on these studies: (1) All individuals respond generally the same way to sanction threats, where criminal inclination does not matter, (2) criminal offenders who are impulsive and present-oriented are less responsive to sanction threats because they are "distant in time". These individuals have high criminal motivation (propensity), which reduces the impact of the deterrent. (3) Those individuals who are low in criminal propensity are not motivated to commit crimes or are deterred by other factors such as moral concerns. This means that sanction threats should not matter to those low in criminal propensity and should have the greatest deterrent effect on those expressing high criminal propensity/motivation, creating a positive correlation between criminal propensity and deterrent effects of sanction threats.

The literature review also found that sometimes the extent of the deterrent effect in different groups differs for the certainty and severity of punishment. The review found that because many of the studies' variables relied on self-reports, some subjects with a criminal propensity may boast that they would commit a crime regardless of the certainty or severity of the punishment, while acting in a more cautious manner in the real world. The studies also relied on university student samples, having relatively minor offending. This sample may not have adequate variation in criminal...