NCJ Number
53821
Date Published
1977
Length
254 pages
Annotation
IN A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF DETERRENCE, 300 FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WERE ADMINISTERED SELF-REPORT SURVEYS AT TWO POINTS IN TIME TO TEST THE RELATIONSHIP OF SANCTION PERCEPTION TO OCCURRENCE OF PROSCRIBED BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
DETERRENCE THEORY TRADITIONALLY HOLDS THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S PERCEPTION OF SANCTIONS INFLUENCE HIS OR HER SUBSEQUENT BEHAVIOR. PRIOR RESEARCH HAS NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE, AND IT MAY BE THAT PRIOR BEHAVIOR INFLUENCES ONE'S PERCEIVED SANCTIONS. IN ORDER TO TEST THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEPTIONS OF FORMAL SANCTIONS AND OCCURRENCE OF PROSCRIBED BEHAVIOR, A LONGITUDINAL DESIGN WITH RANDOM SAMPLING WAS CHOSEN. SURVEYS WERE USED TO COLLECT DATA, AND THE MAJOR INDEPENDENT VARIABLES WERE MEASURES OF PERCEIVED CERTAINTY, SEVERITY, AND CELERITY OF PUNISHMENT. DEPENDENT VARIABLES CONSISTED OF SIX OFFENSE CATEGORIES: PETTY THEFT, MAJOR THEFT, MARIHUANA USE, BAD CHECKS, PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND CHEATING. IT WAS FOUND THAT FOR THE VARIABLE, CERTAINTY, THERE WAS EVIDENCE FOR THE DETERRENCE MODEL IN ALL OFFENSES EXCEPT BAD CHECK WRITING. EVIDENCE FOR SEVERITY AND CELERITY OF PUNISHMENT DID NOT SUPPORT EITHER THE DETERRENCE MODEL OR THE EXPERIMENTAL MODELS. CONTROLLING FOR SEX, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE EFFECTS ON THE CERTAINTY VARIABLE WERE STRONGER FOR FEMALES THAN FOR MALES. LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY WERE AS FOLLOWS: (1) THE GENERALIZABILITY OF THE SAMPLE MAY BE QUESTIONED; (2) THE VALIDITY OF THE SELF-REPORT SURVEY MAY BE QUESTIONED; AND (3) THE SPECIFIC OFFENSES EXAMINED MAY LIMIT THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY WERE AS FOLLOWS: (1) TESTING COULD BE DONE AT ADDITIONAL POINTS IN TIME, (2) MORE ATTENTION COULD BE PAID TO INTERACTION EFFECTS BETWEEN VARIABLES, AND (3) BETTER MEASURES FOR CELERITY COULD BE DEVELOPED. SUPPORTING DATA ARE TABULATED. THE APPENDIXES CONTAIN A PORTION OF THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE, WHICH IS NOT REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY, AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA. REFERENCES ARE LISTED. (MLC)