NCJ Number
65283
Date Published
1978
Length
20 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO EXPERIMENTALLY ASCERTAIN THE EFFECTS OF BOTH GENERAL AND SPECIFIC SIGNS ON SHOPLIFTING FREQUENCY IN A BOISE, IDAHO, SUPERMARKET.
Abstract
RANGING FROM EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE, MANY POTENTIAL DETERRENTS TO SHOPLIFTING HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED. ANTISHOPLIFTING PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN INSTITUTED AND REPORTED BUT FEW HAVE BEEN ADEQUATELY EVALUATED. IN THIS EXPERIMENT, CIGARETTES WERE CHOSEN AS THE TARGET ITEM SINCE THEY ARE PURCHASED AND SHOPLIFTED AT A FAIRLY CONSTANT RATE. SIGNS WERE CHOSEN AS THE SHOPLIFTING DETERRENT SINCE THEY ARE CHEAP, REQUIRE LITTLE EMPLOYEE TIME OR MAINTENANCE, AND ARE FLEXIBLE PREVIOUS RESEARCH (MCNEES ET AL, 1976) ALSO SUGGESTED THEIR POTENTIAL AS A SHOPLIFTING DETERRENT. DURING THE STUDY, INSTANCES OF SHOPLIFTING WERE RECORDED DURING TWO BASELINE AND TWO EXPERIMENTAL PERIODS. THE FIRST EXPERIMENTAL PERIOD SPECIFIC SIGNS ('CIGARETTES ARE THE ITEMS OFTEN SHOPLIFTED IN THIS STORE') WERE DISPLAYED. DURING THE SECOND PERIOD GENERAL SIGNS ('EVERYONE PAYS FOR SHOPLIFTING') WERE DISPLAYED. UNDER SPECIFIC SIGN CONDITIONS, THE SHOPLIFTING INCREASED 92 PERCENT, WHILE THE USE OF GENERAL SIGNS CAUSED A 32 PERCENT INCREASE. SHOPLIFTING DURING THE 2 BASELINE PERIODS DIFFERED LESS THAN 1 PERCENT. THE FINDINGS CONTRADICTED THOSE OF MCNEES WHERE USE OF SPECIFIC SIGNS RESULTED IN A 90-PERCENT REDUCTION IN SHOPLIFTING. ONE EXPLANATION IS THAT THE SIGNS USED IN THE PRESENT STUDY FUNCTIONED AS ELICITING STIMULI, INCREASING THE DEGREE OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR. ANOTHER IS THAT THE SIGNS MAY HAVE ACTED AS INCENTIVES, MAKING SHOPLIFTING MORE CHALLENGING. THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SHOPLIFTING PHENOMENON ALSO SUGGESTS THAT THE OUTCOMES OF INTERVENTION PROCEDURES, AS IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WILL NOT NECESSARILY BE CONSISTENT WITH COMMONSENSE AND THUS REQUIRE DIRECT EVALUATION. REFERENCES ARE GIVEN. (MJW)