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  • March 2019
  • Article
  • Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

By: Rafael Di Tella, Lucia Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom and Mariano Sigman
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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; Behavior

Citation

Di Tella, Rafael, Lucia Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom, and Mariano Sigman. "Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 159 (March 2019): 613–625.
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About The Author

Rafael M. Di Tella

Business, Government and the International Economy
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More from the Authors
  • Brazil’s Messias? The Lava Jato Corruption Scandal, the Recession, and the Rise of Bolsonaro By: Rafael Di Tella and Jose Liberti
  • Liz Truss and the Thatcher Legacy: Markets and Fiscal Dominance in the United Kingdom By: Rafael Di Tella, Pablo Ottonello and David Allen
  • The Political Economy of a 'Miracle Cure': The Case of Nebulized Ibuprofen and Its Diffusion in Argentina By: Sebastian Calónico, Rafael Di Tella and Juan Cruz Lopez Del Valle
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