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Prospects behind bars: analyzing decisions under risk in a prison population.
Thorsten Pachur1, Yaniv Hanoch, Michaela Gummerum
1University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|November 2, 2010
Summary
Criminals exhibit distinct risk attitudes compared to non-criminals. Prisoners show increased risk-seeking for losses but decreased risk-seeking for high-probability gains, indicating altered decision-making processes.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Criminology
Background:
- Criminal behavior is often associated with risk-taking, yet empirical data on risk attitude differences between criminals and non-criminals are scarce.
- The psychological factors influencing these risk attitude variations remain poorly understood, necessitating further investigation into decision-making processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the risk attitudes of prisoners and non-prisoners.
- To elucidate the psychological underpinnings of observed differences in risk-taking behavior using a formal decision-making model.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cumulative prospect theory (CPT) to model decision-making in response to risky choice tasks.
- Presented matched groups of prisoners and non-prisoners with scenarios involving potential gains and losses.
Main Results:
- Prisoners demonstrated greater risk-seeking in loss-related lotteries but less risk-seeking in high-probability gain lotteries compared to controls.
- Analysis revealed prisoners exhibited reduced sensitivity to outcomes (gains and losses) and heightened loss aversion.
- A diminished sensitivity to the probability of gains was also observed in the prisoner group.
Conclusions:
- Significant differences in risk attitude exist between prisoners and non-prisoners, particularly in how they evaluate potential gains and losses.
- Findings suggest altered cognitive mechanisms, including outcome sensitivity and loss aversion, underlie criminal risk-taking behavior.
- Understanding these psychological distinctions can inform the development of more effective crime prevention and intervention strategies.
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