RT Article
T1 Who Would ‘Purge’? Low Self-Control, Psychopathy, and Offending in the Absence of Legal Controls
JF Crime & delinquency
VO 67
IS 10
SP 1582
OP 1613
A1 Meldrum, Ryan Charles
A2 Lehmann, Peter S.
A2 Flexon, Jamie L. 1972-
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1764045181
AB The assumption that people are inherently self-interested and that legal controls are needed to prevent crime underlies several criminological perspectives. In the current study, this assumption is tested by having a sample of 500 U.S. adults report on the likelihood they would engage in criminal behavior if all crime were legal on one day each year—a scenario depicted in the 2013 film The Purge. Based on the presumption that at least some individuals would “purge,” the extent to which low self-control and psychopathy are associated with the likelihood of purging is also considered. Results indicate that 18% of participants would be likely to purge. In addition, both low self-control and psychopathy are positively associated with the likelihood of purging.
K1 Deterrence
K1 Low self-control
K1 Psychopathy
K1 Social Control
DO 10.1177/0011128720940953