Studying Situational Interaction: Explaining Behaviour by Analysing Person-Environment Convergence - Paperback

by Beth Hardie (Author)

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In response to misconceptions and sub-optimal assessment of situational interaction in the criminological literature, this volume is a comprehensive resource for researchers of person-environment interaction in human behavioural outcomes, with a focus on acts of crime. It provides a bridge between strong complex theory about causal situational interaction in crime and the appropriate methods for empirically testing proposed situational mechanisms. It is underwritten by the principle that research should be driven by theory and served by method.

This volume clarifies the key concepts of interaction and situation within the framework of Situational Action Theory (SAT). It details the implications of these conceptual issues for an appropriate integrative analytical approach to data collection and analysis that places situational interaction at the heart of research into the causes of behaviour (such as acts of crime). Using existing examples of attempts to analyse person-environment interaction, the volume distinguishes and showcases different methods and evaluates their appropriateness for the study of situational interaction in behaviour. Appropriate for researchers in criminology and the behavioural sciences more generally, Studying Situational Interaction is essential for those studying the individual and environmental causes of human actions such as crime.

Author Biography

Dr. Beth Hardie is a Research Associate at the Institute of Criminology, a member of the Centre for Analytic Criminology, and Research Manager of the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) at the University of Cambridge. Her work is grounded in an analytical approach (guided by Situational Action Theory; SAT) that integrates individually and environmentally focused explanations of human behaviour, including crime. She has a particular and critical interest in the data collection and analytical methodology required for the analysis of situational interaction (the interaction between people and settings) in action.