Crime and violence: Desensitization in victims to watchingcriminal events
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Show full item recordAuthor/s:
Di Tella, Rafael
Freira, Lucía
Gálvez, Ramiro
Schargrodsky, Ernesto
Shalom, Diego E.
Sigman, Mariano
Date:
2019Abstract
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.
Este artículo se encuentra publicado en Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (e-ISSN 1879-1751)
Volume 159, March 2019, Pages 613-625
URI:
https://repositorio.utdt.edu/handle/20.500.13098/12811https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.10.005