Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-90).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-90) Also available in print.

Psychopathy has become a highly researched personality disorder in order to better understand criminal and violent behavior (Hare, 1993). Measures of psychopathy have proven to be useful tools in predicting outcomes of institutionalized populations by predicting future dangerousness (Hare, 1999). While several experts in the field of psychopathy allude to the idea of the successful psychopath and their presence in the corporate world (Hare, 1993; Babiak & Hare, 2006), very little research has been done in this area. The current study builds upon the small amount of empirical research by testing hypotheses regarding the relationship between psychopathic personality traits and intentions to engage in white collar crime. Using a sample of 181 university students, psychopathic personality traits were measured using the Psychopathic Personality Inventory - Revised (PPI-R). In addition, scales were developed to measure attitudes toward white collar offending and vignettes were constructed to measures intentions to engage in white collar crime. Four relationships are of primary focus: 1.) Do psychopathic personality traits account for variability in attitudes toward white collar crime?; 2.) Do attitudes toward white collar crime correlate with intentions to engage in white collar crime?; 3.) Are psychopathic personality traits related to intentions to offend and?; 4.) Do attitudes toward offending mediate the relationship between psychopathy and intentions to offend? A major finding is that the Self-Centered Impulsivity factor of the PPI-R accounts for a significant amount of variance in intentions to engage in white collar crime and environmental crime. Additional relationships between psychopathy, attitudes, and intentions are also discussed.

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Text in Afrikaans / Fraud is a worldwide phenomenon that is on the increase and a reason for serious concern. It is a priority crime in South Africa with serious implications both financial and socially. Fraud costs this country R150 milliard, almost three times the cost of the controversial weapon transaction. This was the goals of the researcher to determine what motivates the offender to commit fraud and how can fraud be explained in this study. A qualitative approach was followed due to the qualitative nature of the concept motivation. This resulted in a two-phase approach namely a documentary study, which was followed by interviews with experts in the field of fraud. Ten pre-sentence court reports of fraudsters were studied where after the outcome was discussed with these experts. The criminal event model served as framework for this study. Strain was incorporated as an additional component in the explanation of fraud. / Criminology / M. A. (Criminology)

Text in Afrikaans / Fraud is a worldwide phenomenon that is on the increase and a reason for serious concern. It is a priority crime in South Africa with serious implications both financial and socially. Fraud costs this country R150 milliard, almost three times the cost of the controversial weapon transaction. This was the goals of the researcher to determine what motivates the offender to commit fraud and how can fraud be explained in this study. A qualitative approach was followed due to the qualitative nature of the concept motivation. This resulted in a two-phase approach namely a documentary study, which was followed by interviews with experts in the field of fraud. Ten pre-sentence court reports of fraudsters were studied where after the outcome was discussed with these experts. The criminal event model served as framework for this study. Strain was incorporated as an additional component in the explanation of fraud. / Criminology and Security Science / M. A. (Criminology)