The Virtual Reality Scenario Method: Moving from Imagination to Immersion in Criminal Decision-making Research

• Author: Iris van Sintemaartensdijk,Reinout E. de Vries,Tara Donker,Andrew Demetriou,Jean-Louis van Gelder
• Published date: 01 May 2019
• Date: 01 May 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0022427818819696
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

The Virtual Reality

Scenario Method:

Moving from

Imagination to

Immersion in Criminal

Decision-making

Research

Jean-Louis van Gelder

1

, Reinout E. de Vries

1,2

,

Andrew Demetriou

3

, Iris van Sintemaartensdijk

1,2

,

and Tara Donker

2

Abstract

Objectives: This study proposes an alternative hypothetical scenario method

capitalizing on the potential of virtual reality (VR). Rather than asking parti-

cipants to imagine themselves in a specific situation, VR perceptually

immerses them in it. We hypothesized that experiencing a scenario in VR

would increase feelings of being “present” in the situation, and add to

perceived realism compared to the written equivalent. This, in turn, was

1

Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, Enschede, the

Netherlands

2

Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

3

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, TU Delft, Delft, the

Netherlands

Corresponding Author:

Jean-Louis van Gelder, Faculty of Behavioural, Management, and Social Sciences, University of

Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, the Netherlands.

Email: j.vangelder@utwente.nl

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

2019, Vol. 56(3) 451-480

ªThe Author(s) 2019

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0022427818819696

journals.sagepub.com/home/jrc

expected to trigger stronger emotional experiences influencing subsequent

behavioral intentions. Methods: In an experiment, participants (N¼153),

visitors of a large music festival, either read a “bar fight” scenario or expe-

rienced the scenario in VR. Following the scenario, they were presented a

series of questions including intention to aggress, perceived risk, anticipated

shame/guilt, presence, perceived realism, and anger. Analyses were con-

ducted using analysis of variance, stepwise regression, and mediation anal-

ysis using nonparametric bootstrapping. Results: In line with expectations,

the results indicate significant differences between conditions with the VR

scenario triggering stronger presence, higher realism, and higher intention

to aggress. Importantly, presence and anger mediated the relation between

condition and intention to aggress. Conclusions: We show that the VR sce-

nario method may provide benefits over written scenarios for the study of

criminal decision-making. Implications are discussed.

Keywords

virtual reality, 360video, scenarios, anger, emotions

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw two related developments that mark

the study of criminal decision-making to this day. On the one hand,

rational choice perspectives (Clarke and Cornish 1985; Cornish and

Clarke 1986) emerged to establish themselves as the principal theore-

tical choice models, next to the hitherto dominant deterrence paradigm.

On the other, the hypothetical scenario method was introduced to a

criminological readership and became the preferred method for testing

decision-making perspectives (Klepper and Nagin 1989; Nagin and

Paternoster 1993). By providing contextual information surrounding

(hypothetical) offenses and locating the choice process within the situ-

ation, rational choice/deterrence-based scenario studies were better able

to capture the situation-specific nature of offending decisions compared

to other methods (Pogarsky 2004) and were also less prone to measure-

ment error (Bachman, Paternoster, and Ward 1992). Arguably, with the

development of the scenario method, crime research moved a significant

step closer to importing the context in which offending decisions are

actually made and thereby greatly advanced our knowledge of criminal

decision-making processes.

Nonetheless, the extent to which written scenarios can serve as valid

proxies for actual criminal decision-making is questionable. For one thing,

452 Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 56(3)