NCJ Number
75343
Journal
Western Political Quarterly Volume: 30 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1977) Pages: 93-103
Date Published
1977
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study explored the hypothesis that the predisposition to support severe treatment of criminals and to ignore due process considerations is related to society's tendency to reject and punish those deemed deviant.
Abstract
Study data were collected in 1971 from approximately 500 college students enrolled in introductory social science courses at three midwestern and western colleges. Likert-style cumulative scales were employed to measure each of the major constructs. Antiheterodoxy was defined as a tendency toward a narrow, exclusionary perspective and reification of sociopolitical authority. It was assumed that attitudes favoring law and order would be associated with a strong sense of traditional social values stressing obedience and respect for authority, strong and relatively uncritical support of the American political system, high trust in political authorities, and high political efficacy. Data analysis revealed a striking relationship between antiheterodoxy and attitudes toward law and order; the data support the hypothesis. Antiheterodoxy and a number of associated political and social attitudes were shown to be interwoven with the theme of law and order. A test of the distribution of law and order attitudes revealed that Republicans and conservatives are more likely to fall in the crime-control end of the continuum, and that sex and income had relatively little impact on the political attitudes tested. Forty footnotes are included.