Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

Rafael Di Tella, Lucia Freira, Ramiro Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky Ernesto Schargrodsky (eschargr@utdt.edu), Diego Shalom Diego Shalom (diegoshalom@gmail.com) and Mariano Sigman
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Ernesto Schargrodsky Ernesto Schargrodsky: Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
Diego Shalom Diego Shalom: Universidad Torcuato Di Tella

No 18-039, Harvard Business School Working Papers from Harvard Business School

Abstract: We study desensitization to crime in a lab experiment by showing footage of criminal acts to a group of subjects, some of whom have been previously victimized. We measure biological markers of stress and behavioral indices of cognitive control before and after treated participants watch a series of real, crime-related videos (while the control group watches non-crime-related videos). Not previously victimized participants exposed to the treatment video show significant changes in cortisol level, heart rate, and measures of cognitive control. Instead, previously victimized individuals who are exposed to the treatment video show biological markers and cognitive performance comparable to those measured in individuals exposed to the control video. These results suggest a phenomenon of desensitization or habituation of victims to crime exposure.

Keywords: crime; biological markers; experiment; victimization; desensitization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2017-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-law and nep-ltv
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http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/pages/download.aspx?name=18-039.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Crime and violence: Desensitization in victims to watching criminal events (2019)
Working Paper: Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hbs:wpaper:18-039

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