Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Arts and Humanities
First Supervisor
Dr Shane Rogers
Second Supervisor
Professor Craig Speelman
Abstract
For researchers examining and observing criminal behaviour, a mock-crime is an important tool used to provide participants with the experience of roleplaying an offender committing a crime. This type of roleplaying experience is commonly used in conjunction with investigative interviews, where researchers examine how different techniques or approaches result in the successful elicitation of crime-related information. Within the literature, much of the focus within research has been on improving the techniques used in interview components. Less attention has been placed on how the content of mock-crime component, experienced by participants prior to being interviewed, can enhance participants’ roleplaying experiences. Less research has also been conducted on how interview environments can affect mock-suspects’ engagement with investigative interviews.
Past research with laboratory-based mock-crimes has either received criticisms or have self-criticised the generalisability of their results due to aspects of external validity. Underlying this criticism are notions that some mock-crime experiences can be too simple and may fail to sufficiently motivate participants for the subsequent interview component.
In this thesis, I used the Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) to create virtual reality environments where participants engaged in mock-crimes, and virtual reality police interview rooms where participants were held and interviewed about these mock-crimes. Within the virtual reality mock-crimes, I included various virtual objects that could be stolen, a scripted virtual reality confederate that provided participants with instructions on what to do, scripted events that were intended to intrinsically motivate participants, and scripted content that provided participants with information pertaining to the mock-crime and to enhance participants’ mock-crime experience. When participants were interviewed in the virtual reality police interview room, I used a virtual reality avatar of myself and motion-capture technology so that participants were able to see, in real-time, my facial movements, and hear me while being interviewed.
Findings from this thesis indicate that virtual reality can be used to provide participants with realistic alternate environments to commit mock-crimes. Providing participants with more information about the mock-crime helped participants better engage in the narrative, understand their offender character’s motives, and develop closer bonds to their accomplice. Providing participants with choices within the mock-crime enhanced participants’ perceptions of volition and interest for the mock-crime. Participants also reported feeling more negatively emotionally aroused when being interviewed in a virtual reality room that resembled a police holding cell, compared to a laboratory interview room. Lastly, participants reported that knowing more about the mock-crime and developing close bonds with their accomplice affected their perceived ease of lying in the interview, and their willingness to lie for their accomplice. This research offers researchers a method to enhance and engage participants’ roleplaying in mock-crimes without the use of monetary incentives and provides a more advance method to conducting mock-crimes and investigative interviews.
DOI
10.25958/19s6-pt70
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 19 September 2027
Recommended Citation
Branson, I. S. (2024). It’s more than the money: Harnessing virtual reality to produce more context rich mock-crimes to facilitate intrinsic motivation for role-play in mock-crimes and interviews. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/19s6-pt70