Assignment of Punishment as a Function of the Severity and Consequences of the Crime and the Status of the Defendant

• NCJ Number: 101268
• Journal: Journal of Applied Social Psychology Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: (1986) Pages: 77-91
• Author(s): R J Miller; A F Chino; M K Harney; D A Haines; R L Saavedra
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: SRC

Annotation

This study examined sentence severity as a function of defendant power status (defined by occupation), conformity status (e.g., history as a troublemaker or good citizen), degree of deviance (seriousness of the offense), and activity significance (implications of the crime for the wider community).

Abstract

Subjects were 81 undergraduate university students (median age 19.1 years) who made sentencing decisions on the basis of case descriptions in which these factors were varied. Analyses indicate that higher levels of assigned punishment were significantly related to higher levels of degree of deviance and activity significance and to lower levels of conformity status. Power status had no significant influence on punishment decisions. It is concluded that predicting differential treatment of defendants requires an understanding of several variables, and that the importance of status as a factor depends on the particular type of status involved. 44 references (Author abstract modified)