NCJ Number
86672
Journal
Journal of Applied Social Psychology Volume: 11 Issue: 6 Dated: (1981) Pages: 507-528
Date Published
1982
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Inmates and correctional officers in a county jail made attributions of responsibility and predicted each other's attributions in response to four hypothetical stimulus incidents (varying in severity) of the inmates' intentional misbehavior and the severity of the officer's intentional retribution.
Abstract
When misbehavior and retribution were moderate, subjects blamed both participants about equally. However, both over- and underreactions to misbehavior elicited defensiveness, with both officers and inmates more likely to attribute responsibility to each other. This was also true regarding severe but equitable retributions. Subjects blamed each other and, anticipating the other's defensiveness, expected to be blamed. These data suggest that subjects may have responded stereotypically and that defensiveness impeded rather than facilitated predictive accuracy. Further analysis indicates that inmates were more likely than officers to notice mitigating circumstances when considering inmates' responsibility. Recommendations are made to help forestall inmate reactivity to retributions. Study data, footnotes, 18 references, and 4 notes are supplied. (Author abstract modified)