Psychological proximity and the construal of crime: A commentary on ‘Mapping fear of crime as a context‐dependent everyday experience that varies in space and time’

Fear of crime is a dynamic psychosocial phenomenon, and sophisticated methodologies are necessary in order to explore its multidimensionality and complexity. The experience sampling method (ESM) that is used by Solymosi and colleagues (2015) is a promising methodological way forward in fear of crime research. While acknowledging the advantages of ESM, in this commentary we discuss a potential disadvantage of the method, namely the possibility that ESM can increase the psychological proximity of crime. Drawing upon construal‐level theory of psychological distance, we argue that ESM might sensitize people to think about crime through the lens of personal risk, with a knock‐on effect on the construal of crime.