Assessing punitiveness among college students: A comparison of criminal justice majors with other majors

This paper examines attitudes toward punishment among a purposive sample of college students in the Northeast. The hypothesis that attitudes toward criminal sanctioning held by criminal justice majors are more punitive than those held by other majors was supported. Evidence of the effect of education as a tempering agent was found among grade levels. A multiple regression analysis revealed significant predictors of increased punitiveness among the entire sample. Possible reasons for differences in punitiveness among majors are offered and the practical and pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords: Punishmentcollege studentsdifferencespublic attitudesintermediate sanctions Notes An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, 1997. Corresponding author. Tel.: (508)626–4879. Fax: (508)626–4040, E‐mail: dmackey@frc.mass.edu. Tel.: (716)286–8081. Fax: (716)286–8061. E‐mail: kec@niagara.edu.