University of Twente Student Theses
Reframing dynamic guardianship - a virtual reality study
Frerichs, Sina (2024) Reframing dynamic guardianship - a virtual reality study.
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| Abstract: | Guardianship in the context of reducing crime from taking place has shown its effect in recent years. Previous experimental research has primarily investigated symbolic and physical guardianship but so far not dynamic guardianship. Dynamic guardianship describes a combination of the former two guardians. However, it does not require the presence of a person but intends to leave the impression that someone is around. This study examines the effects of dynamic guardianship on the scouting behaviour of burglars, measured by looking at the distance walked, and time spent in a VR neighbourhood. 125 participants, consisting of university students, were asked to take on the role of a burglar while scouting a neighbourhood for a suitable burglary target. While in the neighbourhood, participants were randomly exposed to one of three levels of guardianship (self-switching lights, self-closing blinds, smart camera audio) or no guardianship. A scale to measure dynamic guardianship from the burglars’ and residents’ perspective was developed. The burglars’ perspective aimed at exploring the burglars’ focus when scouting the neighbourhood for targets. Moreover, the residents’ perspective aimed at getting an understand of the attitude towards Smart Home Devices (SHD), after being exposed to them in the environment through the dynamic guardians. The presence of dynamic guardianship in the neighbourhood had no effect on the scouting behaviour of participants. Most influential on the burglars’ target selection in the neighbourhood was the target’s perceived activity level. Further, it appeared that residents were most concerned about their freed resources (such as time) in relation to acquiring SHD, that potentially deter burglars. The dynamic guardians selected for this study appeared to not deter burglars. However, their experience from scouting the neighbourhood provided insight into the focus of a burglar when deciding whether to target a house or not. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/103097 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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