<p>The object of this project is to investigate people’s fear of crime. By means of three studies, the dissertation illustrates how the fear of crime is understood in Anglo-Saxon and Nordic research, by a group of interview subjects and also how this fear is depicted in Stockholm’s daily press.</p><p>In the research, fear of crime is viewed as an individual problem that is not linked to exposure to crime. Instead the fear is explained by reference to individual factors, situational factors and societal conditions. The views described in the research have changed over time, with inter alia an increasing number of groups being described as experiencing fear.</p><p>The interview study is based on 28 in-depth interviews with persons living in different areas of Stockholm. In summary, the interview subjects are not afraid of crime, and they say they do not think about crime in the course of their daily lives. They may perceive fear in certain situations, in specific locations and when faced with unknown people. These situations are characterised by a lack of control, which tends to be linked to the fear of crime. This fear also appears clearly to be influenced by the media.</p><p>In the press, the fear of crime is not only depicted in relation to public places, but also in the home and at the workplace. The absence of police is described as one of the reasons for this fear. It is also acceptable for men to express a fear of crime in the newspaper articles. The descriptions expressed in the interviews and in the press reflect some of the theories propounded on the risk society. Risk appears to be perceived as separate from fear. A reduction in crime would therefore be likely to lead to a reduction in the risk of exposure to crime, but not always in the fear of crime. This fear may instead probably be reduced by measures that increase people’s sense of control.</p>

The object of this project is to investigate people’s fear of crime. By means of three studies, the dissertation illustrates how the fear of crime is understood in Anglo-Saxon and Nordic research, by a group of interview subjects and also how this fear is depicted in Stockholm’s daily press. In the research, fear of crime is viewed as an individual problem that is not linked to exposure to crime. Instead the fear is explained by reference to individual factors, situational factors and societal conditions. The views described in the research have changed over time, with inter alia an increasing number of groups being described as experiencing fear. The interview study is based on 28 in-depth interviews with persons living in different areas of Stockholm. In summary, the interview subjects are not afraid of crime, and they say they do not think about crime in the course of their daily lives. They may perceive fear in certain situations, in specific locations and when faced with unknown people. These situations are characterised by a lack of control, which tends to be linked to the fear of crime. This fear also appears clearly to be influenced by the media. In the press, the fear of crime is not only depicted in relation to public places, but also in the home and at the workplace. The absence of police is described as one of the reasons for this fear. It is also acceptable for men to express a fear of crime in the newspaper articles. The descriptions expressed in the interviews and in the press reflect some of the theories propounded on the risk society. Risk appears to be perceived as separate from fear. A reduction in crime would therefore be likely to lead to a reduction in the risk of exposure to crime, but not always in the fear of crime. This fear may instead probably be reduced by measures that increase people’s sense of control.

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Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2008. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-93). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 286-289).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1993.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1993.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 286-289).

High density electroencephalographic (EEG) measures were used to assess the effects of acute delta 9-tetrahyrdrocannabidol (THC) administration on extinction of conditioned fear responses. Fear conditioning was initiated using a differential classical conditioning paradigm that paired an aversive unconditioned stimulus (shock) with a signaling stimulus (CS+), whereas another stimulus served as a safety signal (CS-). Evoked potentials, induced event-related spectral perturbations (ERSP), and associated intertrial coherence (ITC) measures were used to quantify the acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear responses. Participants (N = 10 males) exhibited conditioning to the CS+ across fear acquisition training, as reflected by greater late positive (posterior sites) and late negative (anterior sites) potential amplitude to the CS+ relative to the CS-. Acute administration of THC facilitated extinction of the conditioned response to the CS+ relative to placebo, as reflected by greater LPP and LNP amplitude to the CS+ relative to the CS- in the placebo, but not THC condition. ERSP analyses suggest the lack of difference between CS+ and CS- ERP amplitude may be partially explained by a shifting of attention from external stimuli to internal processing in the THC condition. However, relative to placebo, THC administration also increased the amplitude of some measures of the conditioned response (LNP) to the CS-, suggesting a generalization of fear or lack of discrimination in this condition.

xiii, 164 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Research in the warnings literature has investigated several factors that may affect motivation to comply with the information contained in warnings. However, little research in this area has examined the role that emotion may play in motivating behavior. Three studies were conducted to determine whether participants had an emotional response to warning labels, and, if so, whether the activated emotions were related to behavioral intentions. In Study 1 ( N = 202), participants were asked to imagine themselves in specific situations in which they needed to use particular products. They were then presented with actual warning labels from common consumer products. Both before and after presentation of the warning, participants were asked to rate the extent to which they felt specific emotions and their behavioral intentions. For the majority of the products, surprise and fear increased after exposure to the warning labels. In addition, fear predicted likelihood of use for 9 of the 12 products. In Study 2 ( N = 200), the general framework of the Extended Parallel Process Model (Witte, 1992) was used in an attempt to manipulate fear responses to the warning labels. Four warning labels were created by varying severity of the consequences (low, high) and efficacy of the precautionary instructions (low, high). Participants exposed to the high severity/high efficacy warning label reported higher levels of fear than those in the other three conditions. Fear was negatively correlated with likelihood of use, but positively correlated with precautionary intent. Study 3 ( N = 256) was conducted in an effort to replicate the findings of Study 2 and determine whether the findings would generalize when the four warning labels were paired with a different consumer product. Participants in the high severity conditions reported higher levels of fear than those in the low severity conditions. Again, fear was negatively correlated with likelihood of use and positively correlated with precautionary intent. Possible reasons for the different effects of severity and efficacy on the fear responses for Studies 2 and 3 are explored. Implications of the findings, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. / Committee in charge: Robert Mauro, Chairperson, Psychology; Sara Hodges, Member, Psychology; Paul Slovic, Member, Psychology; Debra Merskin, Outside Member, Journalism and Communication