Examining Causal Attributions Towards Crime on Support for Offender Rehabilitation (original) (raw)
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Punishment & Society
The aim of the current research was to examine the contribution of crime type and severity as well as offender, observer, and victim characteristics to prediction of perception of community correction (CC) as an appropriate punishment. We conducted a telephone survey among Israeli citizens. A random and representative sample of 573 respondents, aged 20 to 74, evaluated the seriousness of crime scenarios and the appropriateness of CC for each scenario. In different versions of crime scenarios, we manipulated offence type as well as offender and victim characteristics. The results of a logistic regression indicate that perceived lower crime severity, a crime that is not murder, older offender age, and being a secular observer are related with an increased likelihood of supporting community corrections. The discussion addresses these findings in the context of punitive goals (e.g., revenge, retribution), public perception of offender dangerousness, and social identity theory.
Public views toward crime and correctional policies
Journal of Criminal Justice, 2002
Differences between men and women in their proximity to crime, moral development, and attitudes toward an array of social issues suggest that a gender gap in crime views may exist. Investigations of this possibility, however, are in short supply. Using a statewide data set and a variety of global and specific questions about crime policy, punishment, and rehabilitation, this study found that men and women tend to hold moderately divergent views. Women tend to express greater support for offender treatment and less support for punishment than men. Implications of these results for the future of correctional and crime policy are discussed. D
Pro-Criminal Attitudes, Intervention, and Recidivism
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2013
We review the recent research literature on pro-criminal attitudes (PCAs) as a causal factor of recidivism with a focus on studies on the effectiveness of offender treatment programs targeting PCAs to prevent recidivism. The main conclusions that can be derived from the literature are: (1) the evidence supports the hypothesis that PCAs are related to reoffending; (2) most investigated offender treatment programs tend to reduce PCAs, although the general lack of adequate control group designs does not rule out alternative explanations for this reduction; and (3) there is no conclusive empirical evidence that intervention programs designed to reduce PCAs are effective in reducing recidivism. Empirical research in this area lacks the theoretical and methodological rigor to test causal models of the influence of treatment on reducing PCAs, and effects of PCAs on recidivism. Limitations of the empirical evidence are related to inadequate research designs and/or suboptimal data analysis strategies. Recommendations concerning optimized research designs and data analysis strategies that are likely to provide more conclusive evidence on the relation of PCAs, PCA treatment, and recidivism are given.
Causal Attributions, Attitude Similarity, and the Punishment of Drug Offenders*
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The present study derived hypotheses from Kelley's attribution model and recent research (Mitchell and Byrne, 1973) showing jurors' attitudes influence the length of sentences they recommend. Psychiatric nursing students (N=79) were presented with eight hypothetical case histories of convicted drug offenders, and were asked the causes of the offenders' behavior. The traffickers' socioeconomic status, consistency of offenses and form of trial (judge or jury) were experimentally manipulated. As predicted the behavior of consistent offenders was attributed to the person himself and subjects recommended more punishment for such individuals. Furthermore, subjects with liberal drug standards recommended less severe punishment for the offenders. Neither the sex nor the locus of control (Rotter, 1966) of the subjects had any significant main effects. Significant form of trial by consistency and drug standard by socioeconomic 'status interactions were found. Legal implications of the research are presented.
POLITICAL IDENTITY AND SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: A TEST OF ATTRIBUTION THEORY
and support for the death penalty; conservatives and Republicans are more inclined to support capital punishment than are liberals and Democrats. This relationship has endured over time and space as well as across a myriad of research designs. Despite its constancy, this relationship has remained unexplained. This study employs the theoretical rubrics of political socialization and identity formation and attribution theoiy to account for this relationship. Analyses of survey data obtained from jurors summoned to service provide clear support for our claims. That is, conservatives and Republicans are more inclined to support capital Downloaded by [University of South Florida] at 07:16 15 July 2013 46 Journal of Crime and Justice punishment because they are also more inclined to adopt a dispositional attribution style which stresses the individual responsibility, deservedness, and moral culpability of criminal offender Journal of Crime and Justice 47
Measuring criminal attributions with a normative instructional set: Is there a difference?
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of the Criminal Attribution Inventory's (CRAI) normative instructional set (respondent's perception of the average type of crime) in assessing criminal attributions. Methods. To determine the role of the CRAI's instructional set, a content-equivalent, personal instructional CRAI set was created. Correlations with an established criminal attribution scale (Blame Attribution Inventory [BAI]) and a measure of socially desirable responding (Paulhus deception scales [PDS]) were calculated. Partial correlations between the CRAI and BAI, controlling for the personal instructional CRAI, were calculated. Partial correlations were also calculated between the personal instructional CRAI and the BAI, controlling for socially desirable responding. Results. The normative instructional CRAI assessed similar domains as the personal instructional CRAI and made an additional contribution to criminal attributions. Socially desirable responding was minimally related to the normative instructional CRAI and could not account for the differences between the normative and personal instructional CRAI sets. Conclusions. The CRAI's normative instructional set assesses personal criminal attributions within the external blame domain assessing unique attributional variance. Such an instructional set has utility in assessing criminal attributions among those offenders who deny their offences.
An Integrative Theoretical Model of Public Support for Ex-Offender Reentry
International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 2017
Prior research suggests that public and ex-offender characteristics are associated with attitudes toward ex-offenders and support for their reentry; however, research examining reasons for these associations is limited. Research also is limited on the association between attitudes toward ex-offenders generally, and support for their reentry, specifically. Implicit theory offers a new approach to explaining public attitudes through beliefs in the fixed or malleable nature of people (i.e., mindsets). We developed and tested an integrative model applying implicit theory to investigate mechanisms through which beliefs explain support for reentry. Results showed that growth mindsets predicted more positive attitudes toward ex-offenders, which, in turn, predicted greater support for reentry. Belief in a just world, prior contact with an ex-offender, and political orientation were among the covariates of reentry support. Beyond supporting the application of implicit theory in this context,...