Citation

Côté-Lussier C, David JD. Int. Criminol. 2023; 3(4): 340-354.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s43576-023-00106-0

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Despite being largely ineffective in producing long-term reductions in crime, harsh criminal justice policies receive continuing high levels of public support. This study tests the hypotheses that (i) punitive intuitions contribute to expressing support for harsh criminal justice policy, and that (ii) universal intergroup dynamics contribute to punitive intuitions. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data were collected among university students in the U.K. (N = 60) and Canada (N = 68) to determine the association between intuitive decisions to punish harshly and explicit support for harsh criminal justice policy. The results of multiple linear regression models suggest that a greater proportion of harsh intuitive punitive decisions (i.e., imposing a prison versus non-prison sentence) was positively and significantly associated with expressing greater support for harsh criminal justice policy (e.g., supporting the use of stiff sentences). However, this association was only partly consistent with intergroup dynamics, with ideological preferences also contributing to support for harsh criminal justice policies. Punitive intuitions, a form of rapid or automatic process tied to universal intergroup dynamics and political ideology, contribute to expressing support for harsh criminal justice policy. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for measuring public support for harsh criminal justice policy, and with regards to current social, cultural and political contexts.

Language: en

Keywords

Criminal justice policy; Emotion; Ideology; Intergroup relations; Intuition; Punitiveness