Abstract

Dual-process models of decision making assume that we process information using two distinct ‘systems’: a deliberate and analytical system, and an intuitive system. This article uses 148 UK press articles about sexual crime to apply one such model – the ‘prototype-willingness’ model – to the study of social discourses about sexual crime in England and Wales. A small number of cases were significantly over-represented within the article sample (for example, the recent Jimmy Savile scandal). This finding is examined within the context of contemporary debates about sexual crime, and a model of social and political discourse is advanced. Implications for legislation and future research are discussed.