SUBJECTS WERE ASKED TO IMAGINE THEMSELVES IN EACH OF 18 HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS AND TO REPORT THEIR PROBABLE BEHAVIORS IN EACH. FACTORS EXAMINED WERE THE TWO GROUP'S EXPECTATIONS OF GAIN, THEIR PREDICTIONS OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF TAKING SPECIFIC RISKS, AND SITUATIONAL FACTORS MOST SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THESE PERCEPTIONS. SITUATIONAL FACTORS INCLUDED OBJECTIVE PROBABILITY OF CAPTURE, SEVERITY OF PUNISHMENT, AND TIMING OF THESE CONSEQUENCES. RESULTS SHOW THAT THE TWO GROUPS DID NOT DIFFER IN THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF PROBABLE GAIN, BUT THAT OFFENDERS WERE MORE LIKELY TO TAKE THE RISKS THAN WERE NONOFFENDERS. OFFENDERS TENDED TO BE LESS INFLUENCED THAN NONOFFENDERS BY THE PROSPECT OF DELAYED CONSEQUENCES. PERCEPTION OF GAIN AND RISK-TAKING PROBABILITY WERE POSITIVELY CORRELATED FOR BOTH GROUPS. IN ADDITION, BOTH FACTORS WERE HIGHER WHEN THE OBJECTIVE PROBABILITIES OF THE SITUATIONAL RISK FACTORS WERE LOWER. THESE FINDINGS' RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER RESEARCH, AND SEVERAL AREAS RECOMMENDED FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION, ARE DISCUSSED. GRAPHS, ONE TABLE, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)