Affect and Cognition in Criminal Decision Making ― Between Rational Choices and Lapses of Self-control

"Since its publication in 1986, Cornish & Clarke's seminal work The Reasoning Criminal: Rational Choice Perspectives on Offending has become a very influential text in criminal decision making theory. However, Criminology seems to have lost contact with developments in other disciplines in decision making, especially with modern socio-psychological theory such as the 'Dual Process Model of Decision Making'. This book questions the extent to which criminal decision making theory should take on board recent socio-psychological results. It provides a conceptual analysis of the role of affect and cognition in criminal decision making and considers the possibility of incorporating effect within the rational choice model, as opposed to using the dual process model. In two conceptual and ten empirical chapters it is carefully argued which role emotions can and should play in decision making. Affects such as anger, shame, and sexual arousal are discussed. The empirical studies use a wide variety of methods from interviews and observations to experiments and questionnaires, and treat crimes so diverse as street robbery, pilfering, and sex offences. It will be of interest to criminologists, social psychologists, judgment and decision making (JDM) researchers, behavioral economists and sociologists alike"--

Jean-Louis van Gelder currently works as a researcher at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR). His research interests focus on criminal decision making where he applies insights from social psychology and social cognition to study the interplay of affect and cognition on criminal decisions. Recently, he started researching multiple self models and future self continuity, to apply them to criminal behavior. Other research interests include personality and crime and informality in developing countries.

Henk Elffers is a senior-researcher at NSCR and professor of empirical research into criminal law enforcement at VU University Amsterdam. He has worked in the field of rule compliance, spataila criminology, rational choice, guardianship, punishment.

Daniel Nagin holds a PhD in Urban and Public Affairs from Carnegie Mellon University, where he is now the Teresa and H. John Heinz III University Professor of Public Policy and Statistics, and a specialist on deterrence theory. He has amply published on various aspects of the rational choice paradigm in criminology.

Danielle Reynald trained as a social-psychologist (London) and did a Ph.D in criminology (Amsterdam). She is a lecturer in Criminology at Griffith University, where she teaches spatial and environmental criminology. Her specialism is guardianship research.