Reference: Salvato, G., De Maio, G., Francescon, E., Fiorina, M. L., Fazia, T., Grecucci, A., Bottini, G. (2023). “I feel your fear”: superior fear recognition in organised crime members. Cognition and Emotion, 37(3), 430–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2023.2170333 Research shows that people who commit crimes may struggle to recognize facial emotions. This social insensitivity may inhibit their social and work relationships, thus handicapping them. Yet it may not inhibit their ability to ‘steal’ or ‘trick’ others. Organized crime members are one criminal group who belong to a structured social network often relying on manipulating others during illegal activities. The ability to recognize emotions plays a key role in building social networks, so organized crime members might be better at reading facial emotions to exploit this skill for criminal purposes. Italian neuropsychologists tested 150 male incarcerated organized and non-organized crime offenders and non-offenders, in recognizing 6 facial emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise. Participants completed several neuropsychological tests to assess facial recognition abilities. Results? Organized crime members were better at detecting fear in others compared to other offenders, and even non-offenders, but no difference in detecting other emotions. This is expected since the Italian mafia uses intimidation and violence to exert control and gain respect from peers in a large social network. Fear recognition is essential for the Mafia to be successful in using threats in crime!

Written by Kristin M. Harris, Ph.D.