| Criminals' Emotional Experiences During Crimes by | | | | feelings that criminals were experiencing while |
| David. Canter and Maria Ioannou is a scientific article | | | | committing a crime does not truly indicate the reason |
| written in the International Journal of Forensic | | | | of why the crime happened. The bridge between the |
| Psychology. The research in the article was conducted | | | | external and internal circumstances of the crime has |
| with the help of eighty three convicted men in the | | | | become narrower, although it still does not lead to |
| prison in the UK. The primary goal of the research | | | | understanding where the two meet and form into a |
| was to find out what emotions or mixture of emotions | | | | criminal notion. Moreover the article only took into |
| the offenders experienced when committing a crime. | | | | consideration men criminals of age 21-77, thus not |
| With the help of scientific approaches already | | | | taking into consideration women and young criminals, |
| established as measures for non criminals to distinguish | | | | who are very important to the study of the criminal |
| their emotional state, the authors attempted to obtain a | | | | intentions. The range of the crimes taken in the |
| better understanding of the emotional structure of law | | | | research is too wide to really comprehend the |
| offenders. By doing so the researchers intended to | | | | psychological state of individual criminals and there are |
| discover the internal experiences, emotional | | | | only means and coefficients that are indicators of |
| background of the crime of the offenders while they | | | | certain emotional conditions. They do not depict an |
| were carrying it out. The distance between the | | | | actual state of things and thus research should be |
| external circumstances that lead law breakers to | | | | narrowed to specific crimes and conclusions should be |
| commit a crime and emotional state that helps | | | | drawn from each such research. Taking one particular |
| committing it may decrease when concrete emotional | | | | crime type at a time and analyzing its particularities in |
| patterns of offenders will be established. | | | | accordance with given hypothesis would probable give |
| The study of the British criminals was well organized | | | | a more appropriate and truthful result. |
| as the participants were of different age and various | | | | Russell's circumplex theory proves that each individual |
| criminal backgrounds which gave the research a | | | | is meant to experience full range of emotions and that |
| deeper dimension and a better representation of the | | | | they are interrelated, although might be on the opposite |
| reality. The authors collected data in an understandable, | | | | sides of the axis. When reading the article it became |
| simple and at the same time accurate way that | | | | clear that although criminals of various types are |
| directly related to the study field. The illustration of the | | | | divided on those who have pleasant or unpleasant |
| analyzed data with the help of Smallest Space | | | | experiences, there was proof that each individual still |
| Analysis made it evident and visually supported the | | | | goes through a full range of emotions. Those emotions |
| idea that authors tried to explain with words. Showing | | | | are of various degrees with definite strong and weak |
| the relation of various emotions on the axis and with | | | | ones but the important aspect of the research is that |
| variables, the reader can comprehend the meaning of | | | | all of the emotions are connected with each other and |
| it even without a special explanation. The logical | | | | a person cannot simply be controlled of specific set of |
| pattern of the article makes the reader to easily follow | | | | feelings. This exploration indicates the complexity of a |
| the logic of the research. For instance when in the | | | | human psychology and points out that stereotyping of |
| beginning of the article the authors were to prove that | | | | crimes is hardly a successful way of detecting |
| Russell's circumplex for emotions has a direct | | | | offenders and helping to prevent them. |
| connection to their research, they gradually prove with | | | | Considering the amount of researches and |
| statistical data that it really does coincide with their set | | | | investigations held each year in many countries it still |
| hypothesis. They conclude that Russell's dominant axis | | | | remains a mystery why the number of crimes is |
| is relevant to the experience of the crime as it shows | | | | constantly growing. It is obvious that study of human |
| specifically that crimes are either of pleasurable or not, | | | | emotions when committing a crime cannot prevent it |
| depending on the type of crime. From the graphic | | | | as it was already performed but it could help to |
| representation of the data, authors show that the | | | | understand how society can be transformed to avoid |
| most distinct and significant emotions of the crimes are | | | | them in the future. As the study shows, criminals are |
| on the extreme sides of the axis, thus proving the idea | | | | ordinary people with a twisted emotional diagram, who |
| of having a pleasant or unpleasant association with a | | | | have been led to crimes by the outside influences. This |
| committed crime. | | | | diagram has to be read in accordance with their lives |
| This research with numerous scientific elements of | | | | experiences and personal circumstances in order to |
| investigation shows what types of crimes are related | | | | make conclusions as to which exactly and why |
| to what types of emotions. The determination of the | | | | emotions they felt. |