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  • 2017
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

By: Rafael Di Tella, Lucía Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom and Mariano Sigman
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:36
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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; Crime and Corruption; Perspective; Attitudes; Behavior

Citation

Di Tella, Rafael, Lucía Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom, and Mariano Sigman. "Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-039, October 2017.
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About The Author

Rafael M. Di Tella

Business, Government and the International Economy
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • Causal Inference During A Pandemic: Evidence on the Effectiveness of Nebulized Ibuprofen as an Unproven Treatment for COVID-19 in Argentina By: Sebastian Calonico, Rafael Di Tella and Juan Cruz Lopez Del Valle
  • Does Social Media Cause Polarization? Evidence from Access to Twitter Echo Chambers during the 2019 Argentine Presidential Debate By: Rafael Di Tella, Ramiro H. Gálvez and Ernesto Schargrodsky
  • The 2012 Spanish Labor Reform: Lifting All Boats or Levelling Down? By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella, Santiago Botella and Elena Corsi
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