The Role of Perpetrator Motivation in Two Crime Scenarios

Abstract

Undergraduate volunteers ( n = 134) were randomly assigned in a 2 × 2 design that manipulated type of crime (rape vs. robbery) and perpetrator motivation (anger vs. desire). After reading one of the crime scenarios, participants responded to a series of attitude items regarding responsibility for the crime, assigned blame to agents mentioned in the scenario, and assigned a prison sentence to the perpetrator. A two-way ANOVA showed a significant interaction of motivation and crime ( p = .026), with the victim rated least responsible in the anger-motivated rape scenario. Likewise, the assignment of blame produced a significant interaction of motivation and crime ( p = .034); the victim was blamed the least in the anger-motivated rape scenario. Although the perpetrator was viewed as more responsible for the crime of rape than robbery ( p = .022) and received a significantly longer sentence for rape ( p < .001), perpetrator motivation did not affect perceptions of the perpetrator’s responsibility for either crime. These results stand in contrast to those of Mitchell, Angelone, Kohlberger, and Hirschman (2009) and suggest their findings may have been the result of homophobic statements by the perpetrator rather than anger per se.