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Does he mean what he says? : Using Eye Tracking to understand Victim - Offender Mediation

Bonensteffen, Florian (2018) Does he mean what he says? : Using Eye Tracking to understand Victim - Offender Mediation.

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Abstract:The object of this study was to gain insights into the overt visual attention behavior of victims when evaluating the sincerity of an apology given by an offender in victim-offender mediation. It was expected that victims' attention was focused on the upper face part of the offender, including eyes and eyebrows, as these areas were expected to provide the richest informational content. Also, inferences of suffering and responsibility taking and perceived emotions of regret and empathy were expected to predict the perceived sincerity of the offender. Fifty-eight university students were asked to take the role of a victim in a fictitious crime case scenario. During the study, eye tracking data of participants were obtained. Results indicated that participants spent more time looking at the eyes and eyebrows of the offender than on other visual areas when they had high expectations towards the offender being sincere. This study also argues that previous expectations towards the sincerity of the offender, positive attitudes towards resocialization programs and inferences of perceived suffering and responsibility taking positively predicted the perceived sincerity. The results are taken to the conclusion that applying eye tracking technology opens the door for further implementation of technology in victim-offender mediation.
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/74549
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