Abstract
This chapter examines the influence of emotions on offender decision making. It reviews the empirical and theoretical criminological literature on the role of emotions in crime causation but also draws from other disciplines in the behavioral and cognitive sciences that have examined the influence of emotions on human decision making. Specific attention is devoted to appraisal theories of emotion, which, it is argued, provide a useful theoretical framework for studying and understanding emotions in criminal contexts. In doing so, it is shown that criminal decision-making research and theorizing may have so far failed to fully acknowledge the influence of emotions on offending behavior.
