| Abstract: | Most of the recent work on crime reporting has yet to be integrated into a coherent theoretical scheme. In response to this theoretical void, the present article outlines a model of the social psychological processes involved in crime reporting. The processes underlying the reporting of an observed crime assume that the bystander is a rational decision maker. After sighting an unusual event. the bystander calculates how discrepant the event is from his personal norms, ponders the sort of label that is appropriate for explaining the event, assumes personal responsibility. and adds up the costs and benefits associated with action. Final action or inaction is the consequence of a long chain of unobservable, cognitive events. The model draws heavily from current theorizing in studies of help-giving and altruistic behavior. |
