The discipline of difference: Ethnolinguistic heterogeneity and corporal punishment

The minority threat hypothesis contends that growth in the size of a given minority population along with the ensuing competition for social and political resources will threaten existing social power arrangements. Regarding punishment specifically, the hypothesis states that dominant groups will support coercive measures to keep minority populations sufficiently oppressed. Using the minority threat hypothesis as our theoretical foundation, we posit that the more heterogeneous a population, the more social control will be necessary to maintain societal equilibrium for those in power. In effect a more personal, physical, and visceral response to criminal behavior will be deemed necessary in countries with high levels of fractionalization. This more focused form of social discipline will manifest as corporal punishment. Comparing modalities of punishment against varying population characteristics, we find that countries with higher levels of ethnic, linguistic, and religious fractionalization are more likely to employ corporal punishment against criminal offenders.     

Predictors of adult attitudes toward corporal punishment of children

This study identifies predictors of favorable attitudes toward spanking. Analyses were performed with survey data collected from a representative sample of 1,000 adults from Quebec, Canada. According to this survey, a majority of respondents endorsed spanking, despite their recognition of potential harm associated with corporal punishment (CP) of children. The prediction model of attitudes toward spanking included demographics, experiencing or witnessing various forms of family violence and abuse in childhood, and perceived frequency of physical injuries resulting from CP. Spanking was the most reported childhood experience (66.4%), and most violence and abuse predictors were significantly and positively correlated. Older respondents who were spanked in childhood and who believed that spanking never or seldom results in physical injuries were the most in favor of spanking. On the other hand, respondents who reported more severe physical violence or psychological abuse in childhood were less in favor of spanking. Findings are discussed in terms of prevention of CP and family coercion cycle.     

Religious influence on parental attitudes toward the use of corporal punishment

Certain Biblical passages if interpreted literally can be understood as advocating the use of corporal punishment in disciplining children. The purpose of this research was to determine if persons affiliated with religious denominations which emphasized a literal belief in the Bible would demonstrate less appropriate attitudes with regard to discipline than their counterparts who were affiliated with religious denominations which do not subscribe to a literal interpretation of the Bible. The sample consisted of 881 persons who were members of denominations classified as literal or nonliteral believers. Statistically significant differences were noted on the Physical Punishment Scale of the Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory with persons, regardless of gender or their level of education, who were members of churches subscribing to a literal belief in the Bible preferring the use of corporal punishment over alternate methods of discipline as compared to their nonliteral counterparts.     

Predicting adult approval of corporal punishment from childhood parenting experiences

This study explores the relationship between mothers' approval of corporal punishment and the degree to which they themselves were subjected to violence as children. Considered as additional contributing factors are: (1) whether the mothers as children were punished by their own parents, (2) whether they perceived such punishment as unfair, and (3) the degree of parental nurture they experienced as children. The sample consisted of 330 new mothers whose mother and father both lived in the home when they were 14 years of age. Respondents were interviewed at home one to two months following their infants' discharge from the hospital. After controlling for race and income, no relationship was found between approval of corporal punishment and the violence to which mothers were subjected as children. However, significant associations were found between such approval and: (1) whether mothers were punished by their parents, and (2) maternal (but not paternal) nurture. Perceptions that parental punishment was unfair failed to contribute to such approval. Altogether, parental factors in mothers' childhoods, excluding race and income, accounted for 8.9% of the variance in approval of corporal punishment.     

Public perceptions of white-collar crime and punishment

Although financial losses from white-collar crime continue to exceed those of street crime, the criminal justice system has traditionally focused on the latter. Past research suggested that citizens are more likely to support punitive sanctions for street offenders than white-collar offenders. Recent corporate scandals have increased public awareness of white-collar crime, but whether public attitudes have been altered remains to be determined. Using a 2005 national sample of 402 telephone survey participants, the current study examined citizen perceptions of white-collar and street crime, as well as attitudes regarding apprehension and punishment. This research extended prior studies by also considering the influence of sociodemographic characteristics as well as perceptions of white-collar crime and punishment on the public's support for increasing resource allocation. Implications for future research and development of more effective white-collar crime control policy are discussed.     

The impact of racial slurs and racism on the perceptions and punishment of violent crime

When a crime is committed by an individual of one race against an individual of another race, there is the possibility that the crime is a hate crime. Legislation often mandates harsher penalties for perpetrators convicted of crimes determined to be hate crimes, yet this determination is difficult to make. This study used vignettes of violent crimes to examine how the races of the perpetrators and victims, the severity of the assault, and the use of racial slurs by the perpetrators would affect perceptions of the crimes as "hate crimes," victim blaming, and sentencing recommendations. Results showed that each of these factors affected participants' perceptions and punishments of violent crime. Participants' levels of racism were an additional factor. These results contribute to the understanding of how crimes in which the perpetrator's and victim's races differ are perceived.     

Do perceptions of punishment vary between white-collar and street crimes?

Much has been learned about the relationship between sanction threat perceptions and criminal activity, yet little remains known about the factors that are associated with sanction threat perceptions. Moreover, because most researchers had studied deterrence within the context of street crime, even less is known about the factors that relate to sanction threat perceptions for white-collar crime. This study used data from a national probability sample to examine whether the determinants of perceived sanction certainty and severity for street crime were different from white-collar crime. Using robbery and fraud as two exemplars, the findings indicated that while public perceptions of sanction certainty and severity suggested that street criminals were more likely to be caught and be sentenced to more severe sanctions than white-collar criminals, respondent's perceptions of which type of crime should be more severely punished indicated that both robbery and fraud were equally likely to be perceived ‘on par.’ Additional results indicated that the correlates of certainty and severity were more similar than different, but that the results differed according to whether respondents were asked about the punishment that white-collar offenders were likely to receive as opposed to what they should receive.     

The effect of respondents' just world beliefs and target person's social worth and awareness-of-risk on perceptions of a person with AIDS

The present research examined how individuals' just world beliefs affected their perceptions of a person with AIDS who was depicted as having contracted the HIV virus while either aware or unaware of health risks, and who was defined as either high or low in general social deservingness or worth. Dependent variables included respondents' affective reactions to the person with AIDS, their willingness to allocate resources to him, and their perception of the fairness or the unfairness both of his general plight and that various types of resources be given to him. Results indicated that those who were higher in just world beliefs were more emotionally negative to the other with AIDS, they were less willing to contribute resources to him, and they felt that it was less fair that such resource transfers be required. Similar response patterns were found when the other with AIDS was described as lower in social worth and when he was depicted as having contracted AIDS with full awareness of health risks. Implications of the findings were discussed in terms of how psychological theories of justice might inform health care policy.     

The social willingness to comply with the law: The effect of social attitudes on traffic fatalities

This paper investigates the effect of the social willingness to comply with the law on driver behavior and traffic fatalities. We analyze a panel of 15 European Union states for 1996–2002, a period for which consistent attitudinal data are available. Using corruption indices, we find that the social willingness to comply with the law has significant positive effects on traffic fatalities with an elasticity estimated between −0.207 and −0.217. Other significant factors are traffic exposure, economic growth, speed, and alcohol consumption. We also find that, whatever benefits laws produce, differences in national traffic rules do not explain divergences in road safety. This result seems to indicate that willingness to comply matters more than legal specificity.     

基、序、等──刑罚的相应性的蕴涵

本文对刑罚的相应性原则的蕴涵作了系统的探讨。作者认为,基的相应、序的相应与平等性是相应性的不可或缺的三项基本要求,基的相应性是刑量与罪量在绝对意义上的相应．序的相应是罪量与刑量在相对意义上的相应,平等性是相同的罪量应受的刑量应该一致,三者共同制约着立法上法定刑的确定与司法上判定刑的裁定。     

The influence of perceptions of social disorder and victimization on business owners' decisions to use guardianship strategies

Using social disorganization, broken windows, and routine activities theories as guides, this study considered how perceptions of crime in the neighborhood influenced business owners' decisions on the use of various crime prevention (guardianship) strategies. The analysis revealed that perceptions of a crime problem were influenced by the presence of disorder. Drug offenses and vandalism were particularly tied to disorder with drug offenses more often related to guardianship strategies than other offenses. In addition, several strategies were used as prevention measures counter-intuitively for crimes not affected by these strategies, suggesting the need for increased awareness and training for business owners on effective guardianship strategies.     

论社会法的价值及其取向

社会法的存在具有什么样的价值,答案首先可以追考于"价值"之源,从中悟出"法的价值"不等同于"法的价值取向"的道理,以及社会法的价值是社会体制的运行效率的初步论断;其次,追考于社会法的价值取向与社会体制的运行效率科学化的关系,从中得出结论:解决社会问题是社会法的阶段价值取向,构建和谐社会是社会法的目标价值取向。     

Abolition and pedagogy: reflections on teaching a course on alternatives to punishment,state repression and social control

Abolitionism is an important, but often overlooked, theoretical and political alternative to the failings and injustices of the penal system and other forms of social control. While many have documented different approaches to abolitionist strategy, few have explored the work that is done sensitizing individuals to abolitionism, including in university settings. Through an analysis of student journal entries, this study discusses how students enrolled in a mandatory abolition course engaged with the viability of, and barriers to, a world without prisons, punishment and other forms of control. By looking at abolition as a threshold concept, we consider how students negotiate the concept of abolition as a radical justice alternative. As the journal entries showed, while students were able to understand the basic tenets of abolition, many remained in a liminal state between the existing system and the unknown landscape of abolition, and could not see its viability or possibility as a radical alternative. We conclude that other learning strategies may have been helpful in moving student through such a ‘dangerous’ concept. Further research on sensitising individuals to abolition is needed given the current proliferation and intensification of penal and carceral institutions today.     

PTSD symptom clusters, feelings of revenge, and perceptions of perpetrator punishment severity in victims of interpersonal violence

Feelings of revenge have often been found to correlate with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Which PTSD symptom cluster prevails in this association is, however, unknown. Furthermore, previous studies suggest that revenge may be satisfied by perceptions of perpetrator punishment severity, but did not control for concurrent symptoms of PTSD. Therefore, this study explored associations between PTSD symptom clusters, feelings of revenge, and perceived perpetrator punishment severity in a sample of victims of interpersonal violence. Results indicated that the re-experiencing/intrusion symptom cluster was the only index of PTSD which was related to victims' feelings of revenge (n = 207). Revenge correlated negatively with perceptions of punishment severity in victim who knew that the perpetrator had been sentenced, but not after adjustment for PTSD symptoms (n = 96).