The effect of biased information on the malleability of death penalty opinion.
Item
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Title
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The effect of biased information on the malleability of death penalty opinion.
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Identifier
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AAI3325371
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identifier
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3325371
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Creator
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Kennedy-Kollar, Deniese.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Evan J. Mandery
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Date
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2008
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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In Furman v. Georgia (1972), Justice Thurgood Marshall hypothesized that people who support the death penalty would change their minds if they had more information about capital punishment. Past research into the effect of information on death penalty opinion has only examined change in opinion in the direction of "favor to oppose." In order to examine the malleability of death penalty opinion in general, this study presented two groups with information that supported either the retention or abolition of capital punishment, and measured change in opinion in both the "favor to oppose" direction and the "oppose to favor" direction.;Subjects were 187 undergraduates enrolled in ten sections of "Introduction to Criminal Justice" at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the fall 2006 semester. Subjects were divided into two groups and asked to complete a survey regarding their opinions about the death penalty. One group was presented with a lecture comprised of facts and information in favor of the retention of capital punishment and the other was presented with a lecture comprised of facts and information opposed to capital punishment. Upon completion of the lectures, subjects were asked again to complete a survey about their opinions on the death penalty. Pre and post-test surveys were compared to assess change in opinion.;Both groups demonstrated a significant increase in support for the death penalty. This change was driven by significant average increases in support by those who opposed capital punishment at the outset. A significant increase in support for the death penalty was found among those opposed to capital punishment on the pretest regardless of whether they were exposed to facts supporting or opposing capital punishment, but no significant change in opinion was observed among subjects who favored capital punishment on the pretest, regardless on which lecture they heard. The increase in support among opponents was largely attributed to those subjects who held retributive beliefs and who believed that the death penalty serves utilitarian functions.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
