ABSTRACT

Organized crime represents a pervasive global threat while posing unique challenges to law enforcement and policymakers. Yet, research about public understanding of this phenomenon remains limited. This research, comprising three studies conducted in Italy (N_tot = 477) and the United States (N_tot = 474), fills this crucial gap by investigating the lay prototypes of organized crime and advancing scholarly debates surrounding public understanding of criminal phenomena. Studies 1a-b identified the shared features of organized crime. In Studies 2a-b, participants rated the features’ centrality. In Italy, centrality ratings were underlain by an 8-dimensional latent structure and predicted by exposure to news. In the US, centrality ratings were underlain by a 7-dimensional structure and predicted by exposure to TV and movies. Studies 3a-b further underscored the significance of the features by demonstrating their diagnostic value. Participants identified criminal entities described using central (versus peripheral) features as more representative of organized crime, and perceived them as more dangerous. Despite a tendency among US participants towards a more romanticized understanding, the studies revealed complex and multifaceted prototypes of organized crime across contexts. These findings have important implications for policy and communication strategies and serve as a catalyst for further research in this critical area.

摘要

有组织犯罪是一种普遍的全球威胁，同时给执法和政策制定者带来了独特的挑战。然而，有关公众对这一现象理解的研究仍然有限。这项研究包括在意大利（N_总 = 477）和美国（N_{总= 477）进行的三项研究} = 474），通过调查有组织犯罪的外行原型并推进围绕公众对犯罪现象理解的学术辩论，填补了这一关键空白。研究 1a-b 确定了有组织犯罪的共同特征。在研究 2a-b 中，参与者对特征的中心性进行了评分。在意大利，中心性评级由 8 维潜在结构支撑，并通过新闻曝光率进行预测。在美国，中心性评级以七维结构为基础，并通过电视和电影的曝光率来预测。研究 3a-b 通过证明其诊断价值进一步强调了这些特征的重要性。参与者认为使用中心（相对于外围）特征描述的犯罪实体更能代表有组织犯罪，并认为它们更危险。尽管美国参与者倾向于更加浪漫化的理解，但研究揭示了跨背景的有组织犯罪的复杂和多方面的原型。这些发现对政策和沟通策略具有重要影响，并可作为这一关键领域进一步研究的催化剂。