NCJ Number
124808
Journal
Personality and Individual Differences Volume: 11 Issue: 3 Dated: (1990) Pages: 265-272
Date Published
1990
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study empirically tests two hypotheses on the relationship of criminality and risk-taking -- that individuals who are inclined to take great risks tend to commit more crimes than cautious individuals, and that crimes committed with either little or overwhelming chances of detection are less affected by risk-taking considerations than are those committed with a moderate likelihood of detection. It verifies both hypotheses.
Abstract
In the first it is presumed that individuals who are inclined to take great risks are more likely to commit crimes than are others. As part of testing this hypothesis, 71 university-level male students filled out questionnaires on crimes that they might have committed and, if they had indeed committed such a crime, they were asked to comment on the perceived degree of risk that the crime entailed. In the second, the same 71 students were asked to choose from among several roulette games with differing stakes, probabilities of success, and magnitudes of gain or loss. When the data collected from these sessions were put to the author's equation, both hypotheses proved a positive relationship between criminality and risk-taking. 4 tables, 16 references.