NCJ Number
175055
Date Published
1999
Length
0 pages
Annotation
In this video of a "Research in Progress" seminar, Dr. Tom Tyler presents his findings on citizens' motivation for obeying the law and deferring to legal authorities, with attention to any varying motivation among European-Americans, African-Americans, and Hispanics.
Abstract
Professor Tyler, who has a Doctorate of Philosophy in psychology, notes that the primary effort to cultivate law-abiding behavior among American citizens over the last decades has emphasized deterrence through punishment. Such a policy has led to America having one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world. Tyler advises that most studies indicate that deterrence pursued through increases in the severity of punishment do not have a significant effect on behavior. Tyler's studies have hypothesized that the internalization of values reflected in the law as well as respect for law and law enforcement authorities are the most effective means of achieving social control and compliance with the law. He reports that this hypothesis has been confirmed in random surveys of citizens in Chicago, Oakland (California), and Los Angeles. These surveys solicited citizens' attitudes toward the law and the police, as well as their own behavior. The surveys suggest that when citizens perceive that they are being treated fairly, rationally, and objectively by police officers, they are motivated to defer to the law and manage their behavior accordingly. Although the surveys documented a tendency among minority citizens to have a more negative attitude toward law enforcement authorities, when this tendency is controlled in the analysis, police fairness in the management of contacts with citizens had a similar effect on minority compliance with the law as with European-Americans. Overall, Tyler recommends that the most effective strategy of social control by law enforcement authorities is to treat citizens with respect, courtesy, and objectivity while fulfilling their functions as law enforcement officials. He cites a study of the police handling of domestic disturbance cases to reinforce this conclusion. Questions from the audience challenge and question some of the study's findings and methodology.