Testing the construct validity of the PICTS proactive and reactive scores against six putative measures of proactive and reactive criminal thinking

This study tested the construct validity of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) Proactive (P) and Reactive (R) scores. The layperson version of the PICTS was administered to 277 (65 male, 212 female) undergraduates and correlated with putative measures of proactive and re...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Walters, Glenn D. 1954- (Author) ; Yurvati, Erica (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2017
In: Psychology, crime & law
Year: 2017, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-14
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Psychological inventory of criminal thinking styles
Construct Validity
Proactive
Reactive
Description
Summary:This study tested the construct validity of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) Proactive (P) and Reactive (R) scores. The layperson version of the PICTS was administered to 277 (65 male, 212 female) undergraduates and correlated with putative measures of proactive and reactive criminal thinking. The hypothesis that P and the proactive scales would correlate ≥.30 in zero-order correlations and regression equations controlling for R, whereas R and the reactive scales would correlate ≥.30 in zero-order correlations and regression equations controlling for P found support in this study. This corroborates the construct validity of the PICTS P and R scores and indicates that self-report measures of moral disengagement and neutralization, on the one hand, and impulsivity and risk taking, on the other hand, may serve as effective proxies for proactive and reactive criminal thinking, respectively.
ISSN:1477-2744
DOI:10.1080/1068316X.2016.1217335