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Perceived Control and Behavioral Reactions to Crime

Northwestern University

In a recent survey of New Yorkers, Miransky and Langer (1978) found that residents who believed that crime could be controlled made only minimal efforts to utilize door locks. Miransky and Langer argue that this failure to exert potential control represents a relinquishment of responsibility for crime prevention motivated by a fear of the psychological consequences of accepting responsibility for a potentially uncontrollable event. This article suggests the alternative interpretation that Miransky and Langer have confused perceptions of the controllability of crime and perceptions of the controllability of one's own probability of victimization. Results of this study suggest that perceptions of the controllability of one's own probability of victimization are strongly related to crime-prevention behavior. These results do not support the motivational theory of Miransky and Langer.

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