Psy 693 Research Proposal Summary

docx

School

Grand Canyon University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

693

Subject

Psychology

Date

Oct 30, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by MasterGrousePerson893

1 Motivations for Engaging in Criminal Activity Ashtyn Freeman College of Humanities and Social Sciences Grand Canyon University PSY-693: Professional Capstone Dr. Mandernach August 23, 2023

2 Motivations for Engaging in Criminal Activity Researching how individuals’ mindsets and attitudes contribute to the likelihood of participation in criminal acts is necessary to understand an individual’s guidance to want to engage in such activity. Alternative studies have examined personality traits, psychopathy, intentions, etc. to explain why individuals find themselves involved in corruption but have not explored the effects that attitudes and mindsets can have on an individual’s decision-making; however, the alternative components can have influence over these two qualities. The purpose behind researching how individuals’ attitudes and mindsets contribute to their probability of engaging in criminal activity is to understand more of the individuals’ actions and if there are any determinants to alter or decrease the likelihood of criminality. Analyzing the mindsets and attitudes of individuals may sound similar yet these terms are applied in different means, attitudes are the way one thinks and feels about someone or something and the behavior they display to show those thoughts and feelings whereas mindsets are a set of attitudes or fixed conceptions that one has and are a challenge to change. Focusing on attitudes and mindsets will benefit the current research and expand researchers’ knowledge on understanding why individuals may be more prone to engage in criminal activity. Literature Review Alternative Studies Beaver et al. (2017) discusses the association between psychopathy and the participation in criminal activities utilizing the Five-Factor Model to unveil that psychopathic personality traits elevate the likelihood of both males and females being arrested, incarcerated, and sentenced to probation. Both males and females are analyzed by their psychopathic personalities which displays a better understanding for both parties to engage in criminal activity. This will

3 factor in with individuals’ mindsets and attitudes because it encapsulates the personalities that contribute to various mindsets and attitudes that are highly found in psychopathic tendencies. Boccio & Beaver (2018) assesses descending self-control and non-shared environmental factors on delinquent involvement. This article breaks down the factors that present themselves as key elements both within oneself and outside of an invidious self-conscious. This will allow a better understanding on how these components make a person commit their actions as well as the way they think when implementing these types of actions. Another article by Próspero et al. (2017) does a thorough overlook into how diminished emotional learning is an indicator for psychopathy and how infringed decision- making can be due to the atypical clarification of cues of positive and negative outcomes. Próspero et al. (2017) examines how the effect of psychopathy in the creation of attitudes regarding theft and the influence of re-offending. This article discusses the attitude someone may display prior to carrying out a crime as well as the mindset and attitude following the crime and analyzing the chance of them re-offending based on their attitude. This varies in research to the other articles due to the fact it is not a gender-based study nor does it focus on the factors of the individual’s internal mentality, but rather draws light upon the attitude in which an individual displays to the outside world that allows them to be categorized based on such attitudes. Dweck & Yeager (2019) explore the mindsets that are known today as growth and fixed. These two mindsets are the most eminent in psychology and will add foundation to the research because it will dive deeper into each form of mindset and what classifies an individual with the correct mindset. This analysis differs from the other articles because Dweck & Yeager (2019) explore the influence growth and fixed mindsets possess in individuals which impacts how discernment and stereotypes are formed. FrameWorks (2020) discusses the shifts of mindsets and how it affects individuals’ behaviors and social structures.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

4 Lastly, a journal from Tharshini et al. (2021), discusses a link between maladaptive behavior and individual personality traits. As this article discusses personality traits as some other articles have, it is dissimilar because it explores the connection of an individual’s personality traits to criminal behavior. Furthermore, this examination reflects the extent to which personality is a peril for criminality (Tharshini et al., 2017). Null Hypothesis: Mindsets and attitudes do not influence the likelihood of an individual engaging in criminal activity. Alternative Hypothesis: Mindsets and attitudes do have an influence over the likelihood of an individual engaging in criminal activity. Methods and Materials Participants The participants needed to conduct the research would include at least 100 random and diverse male and female adolescents and adults between the ages of 14 and 21 who are currently enrolled in high school or college. Choosing two public high schools and two colleges to recruit participants would provide more options for available and eligible participants as well as adhere to randomization. Apparatus Surveys including the implicit association test (IAT), the Thurstone scale, attitude survey, and degree of agreement survey would be used to examine the attitudes and mindsets of participants. Access to the internet would be required for participants such as their phone or a computer for them to be able to complete the surveys. Procedure

5 If the study were to be conducted the first step required would be to submit the potential study to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and receive permission from the IRB. If the IRB grants permission researchers would select two public schools and two colleges to obtain the institutions’ approval to implement the study. After receiving approval, the researchers would send an email to students who are eligible to participate to keep their information and involvement private and anonymous. In the email there would be an informed consent form and the surveys for participants to take followed by a debriefing form. Once all the data was collected researchers would analyze the results and conclude whether the null hypothesis was rejected or accepted. Following the summary of results researchers would produce a report to explain their research findings. Design A correlational non-experimental design would be used to conduct this study if it were executed to determine whether the variables are related and if so, how strongly. This design does not need to influence variables while they are being measured which having participants respond via survey there would be no manipulation occurring. Discussion Results The statistic that would be used to analyze the results would be a t-test. The degrees of freedom would equal to 99 if the sample were to be the preferred minimum of 100 participants. The alpha level used would be .05 which would make the critical value be 1.660. If the results showed that the p-value fell below the alpha level of .05 then the study would be statistically significant, and researchers would reject the null hypothesis. On the other hand, if the results

6 showed that the p-value was greater than the alpha level of .05 then the study would not be statistically significant, and researchers would accept the null hypothesis. Future Studies Analyzing previous studies and the research concluded from this study a possible future study could examine the differences between attitudes and mindsets of men and women and determine if one gender would be more likely to engage in criminal activity compared to the other. Another possibility would be to conduct the same study but instead of only having students be participants facilitate the surveys to anyone. This could be done by using a social media account or creating a website for individuals to be able to participate. Conclusion In conclusion, having the ability to identify and understand individuals’ attitudes and mindsets will provide a better understanding for the motivation to engage in criminal activity. Other studies have been conducted that correlate with individuals’ attitudes and mindsets but have not yet dived deeper into these two concepts. There are numerous attributions to why criminal activity occurs and having more, broad knowledge on the underlying reasons will benefit the criminal justice system and society. .

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

7 References Beaver, K. M., Boutwell, B. B., Barnes, J. C., Vaughn, M. G., & DeLisi, M. (2017). The Association Between Psychopathic Personality Traits and Criminal Justice Outcomes: Results from a Nationally Representative Sample of Males and Females. Crime & Delinquency , 63 (6), 708–730. https://doi- org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0011128715573617 Boccio, C. M., & Beaver, K. M. (2018). The Influence of Psychopathic Personality Traits, Low Self-Control, and Nonshared Environmental Factors on Criminal Involvement. Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice , 16 (1), 37–52. https://doi- org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1541204016684176 Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (2019). Mindsets: A View From Two Eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 14 (3), 481–496. https://doi- org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1745691618804166 FrameWorks Institute. (2020). Measuring Mindset Shifts and Evaluating Mindset Shift Efforts . Washington, DC: FrameWorks Institute. Privitera, G. (2020). Research methods for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. ISBN-13: 9781544309811

8 Próspero, L. J., Moreira, P. S., Paiva, T. O., Teixeira, C. P., Costa, P., & Almeida, P. R. (2017). Psychopathy, criminal intentions, and abnormal appraisal of the expected outcomes of theft. Legal & Criminological Psychology , 22 (2), 314–331. https://doi- org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/lcrp.12103 Tharshini, N. K., Ibrahim, F., Kamaluddin, M. R., Rathakrishnan, B., & Nasir, N. C. M. (2021). The Link between Individual Personality Traits and Criminality: A Systematic Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH , 18 (16). https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.3390/ijerph18168663