| Mean-End Chain(MEC)is a cognitive structure model that interprets individual behaviors from the perspective of values.With the help of this model and in consistent with qualitative research paradigm,this paper explore the content of cognitive structure and how it is constructed of steal behavior of criminals.We adopts the method of "purposive random sampling" in the selection of research objects,at the same time,in order to ensure the comprehensiveness of the research,thieves are divided into recidivists and casual offenders according to certain standards.In Beijing,We randomly selected 35 theft recidivists and 35 theft of casual offenders at a prisons department.Date were collected by using semi-structured interviewing method,the main content of the interview have three parts: the first part is the basic information of the stolen goods,the second part is the characteristic attribute of stolen goods,the third part is about the relevant issues of theft harvest,including the realistic results,social psychological results and the values satisfied.In terms of recording,the interview content were recorded as accurately as possible by combining recording equipment and interview record.In the process of data collection,Researcher show interviewees the "informed consent" to ensure that they understand the purpose of the interview and are willing to cooperate.When analyzing the data,the content analysis method is adopted to encode,summarize and expound the results.The specific steps include: coding,constructing the Implication Matrix,establishing the Hierarchical Value Map and finding the Dominant Perceptual Orientation.Finally,on the basis of data analysis,the results are obtained and discussed,and then draw the conclusion.The result shows that:(1)The knowledge content about theft in the mind of thieves(including recidivists and casual offenders)belong to three levels: attribute,result and value,among them,attribute is the characteristic of the goods,result and value is a self-gratification state pursued by the parties.These knowledge are connected according to the hierarchical order of "goods attributes?functional results?social psychological results?instrumental values?terminal values".(2)The main path of MEC for theft recidivists are: "Insufficient protection measures for target objects?Having money and fun?Being in a good mood?Amused?Pleasure and enjoyment in life" and "Insufficient protection measures for target objects?Alleviating economic pressure?Letting the society improve the evaluation of me?Competent?Social approval/Sense of achievement";The main paths of MEC for theft of casual offenders are: "Insufficient protective measures for target object?Can using them directly?Being in a good mood?Amused?Pleasure of venting" and "Insufficient protective measures for target object?Alleviating economic pressure?Letting my family improve the evaluation of me?Competent?Family self-esteem".Conclusion:(1)Thieves(both recidivists and casual offenders)establish a link between acquisition of goods and self-satisfaction,there is a top-down cognitive structure exists between the value,result and attributes,and this cognitive structure in the memory can be represented by MEC,the self-gratification of thief drives its using illegal means to get goods.(2)The cognitive differences between theft recidivists and theft of casual offenders about theft are mainly reflected in the aspect of values.The deep purpose of theft recidivists is to satisfy these values: pleasure and enjoyment in life,social approval,sense of achievement,and the deep purpose of theft of casual offenders is to satisfy these values: pleasure of venting,family self-esteem.To some extent,this difference affects the parties' views on the theft,it is a influence factor of the party becoming a theft recidivist or a theft of casual offender. |
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