The primary purpose of this research was to determine if the criminal is aware that his actions hurt others. Criminological research has largely overlooked this basic question. This study addressed this deficiency by manipulating empathy as an independent variable in order to assess its role in criminal behavior. / The sample consisted of 4,075 adolescent high school students in a major urban area. The sample was randomly selected and stratified by race, sex, school, and grade. The concept of cognitive empathy was used, which focuses on the individual's awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs and feelings of others. A self-report survey was used for criminal behavior, thus providing a measure of undetected as well as detected criminality. / Findings indicate that criminals are significantly lower in empathy than non-criminals and that empathy is negatively related to criminal behavior. Also, it was determined that among criminal offenders, those who do have empathic dispositions are more likely to engage in property rather than violent offenses. An equally important discovery was that high empathy will compensate for low socialization and restrict criminality. In other words, it appears that even among those not inclined to obey the laws, a strong empathic disposition causes the individual to first consider the effects of his actions on others, and modify his behavior accordingly. This finding is especially compelling since research has demonstrated that empathy can be learned. An unexpected discovery was the significant relationships found among empathy, nurturing, socialization, and criminal behavior, suggesting that the family environment plays a key role. Other findings concern the various characteristics of empathy, as well as the effect on certain correlates of criminal behavior when empathy is controlled. / Results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications and several reommendations are made for future research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: A, page: 1890. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75814 |
| Contributors | RILEY, JUDITH ANNE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 126 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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