A Proof of Concept of the Virtual Reality Process Tracing Approach for the Study of Offender Decision Making in the Context of Situational Action Theory

The present study demonstrates the use and validity of the Virtual Reality Process Tracing Approach (VRPTA) using Situational Action Theory as a case study. It represents an innovative method combining immersive, high-fidelity filmed virtual reality (VR) scenarios, real-time decision-making, and process tracing to gain insight into decision processes. The scenario featured an opportunity to steal a £50 note. A total of 61 participants from the SATNAV:Compass programme, aged 11 to 14, were recruited from three schools in England. Results indicate that 3D, 180-degree VR scenarios successfully elicit real-time decision-making; participants found the scenarios realistic and reported a sense of presence, and their scenario responses have criterion-related validity (i.e., relationship with real-world behaviour). Participants’ reports about the extent to which crime was perceived as an alternative and whether it necessitated deliberation were validated using markers of deliberative choice: response times, decision confidence, and perceived difficulty. Independent-samples t-tests showed that those who reported deliberating about engaging in crime were slower to decide, were less confident in their decisions and found them more difficult to make. Furthermore, preliminary graphical and statistical analyses showed that whether participants perceived crime as the only action alternative, deliberated about it, or did not consider it at all, largely depended on their level of personal morality. This suggests that strong (law-relevant) personal morality acts as a filter for the perception of criminal action alternatives. At weaker levels, individuals were more likely to deliberate about stealing the money, in which case self-control and deterrence processes became relevant, whilst at the weakest levels they chose crime in a habitual manner. This novel use of immersive methods extends our understanding of cognitive decision-making processes beyond the classical input-output paradigm.