NCJ Number
13748
Date Published
1972
Length
232 pages
Annotation
RESEARCH STUDY TESTING THE INTERACTIONIST-LABELING THEORY OF DEVIANT BEHAVIOR IN THE SPECIFIC CONTEXT OF A STAGED SHOPLIFTING INCIDENT.
Abstract
THIS RESEARCH INVESTIGATED A VARIETY OF FACTORS THOUGHT TO AFFECT THE WILLINGNESS OF SUBJECTS TO REPORT A SHOPLIFTING INCIDENT. ON A MORE GENERAL THEORETICAL LEVEL, THE CONCERN WAS WITH THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEGREE TO WHICH AN ACTOR IS VULNERABLE TO DEVIANT IMPUTATION. THE RESEARCH CONSISTED OF A FIELD EXPERIMENT, FOLLOWED BY A HOME INTERVIEW CONDUCTED SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER THE FIELD EXPERIEMNT. THE FIELD EXPERIMENT CONSISTED OF RIGGED SHOPLIFTING EVENTS ENACTED IN THE PRESENCE OF STORE CUSTOMERS WHO WERE IN A POSITION TO OBSERVE AND REACT TO THE SHOPLIFTING INCIDENTS. THREE VARIABLES WERE MANIPULATED AS PART OF THE FIELD EXPERIMENT, ALL THOUGHT TO AFFECT THE WILLINGNESS OF SUBJECTS TO REPORT THE SHOPLIFTING. THESE WERE (1) SHOPLIFTER'S APPEARANCE, (2) SEX OF SHOPLIFTER, AND (3) SEX OF SUBJECT. IN ADDITION, THE THREE STORES SELECTED AS RESEARCH SITES FOR THE EXPERIMENTS VARIED ALONG THE DIMENSIONS OF SIZE AND BUREAUCRATIZATION. THE HOME SURVEY AS WELL AS THE POST-EXPERIMENTAL INTERVIEWS GATHERED INFORMATION RELEVANT TO EXAMINING THE EFFECTS ON REPORTING LEVELS OF A NUMBER OF SOCIOPERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SUBJECTS. THE FOLLOWING VARIABLES WERE INCLUDED: SOCIAL DISTANCE, PERCEIVED SERIOUSNESS OF SHOPLIFTING, IMPUTATION OF DEVIANT CHARACTER, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS, AGE, AND DOGMATISM. THE LIKELIHOOD OF REPORTING AN OBSERVED INCIDENCE OF SHOPLIFTING WAS FOUND TO BE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PERCEIVED SOCIAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE OBSERVER AND THE ACTOR. THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE THEFT WAS ALSO DIRECTLY RELATED, ALTHOUGH NOT AS SIGNIFICANTLY. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THOSE SHOPLIFTERS WITH A 'HIPPIE' APPEARANCE WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE REPORTED THAN THE 'STRAIGHT' SHOPLIFTERS. THE POST-EXPERIMENTAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE AND THE HOME SURVEY ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)