Can You Make a Horse Drink? The Effects of a Corrections Course on Attitudes Toward Criminal Punishment

Some experts argue that attitudes toward criminal punishment are difficult to change, whereas others claim that the public, if given the facts, would be less punitive. This study used a pretest-posttest survey design to examine the effects of a university corrections course on attitudes toward the punishment of offenders, and compared subject responses to those of a comparison group enrolled in another criminology course. Students answered knowledge questions and specified punishment choices for crime scenarios. The findings indicate the course as a whole had a significant effect on punishment choices, but specific knowledge change was not the crucial factor in decreasing punitiveness.