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