Abstract
To examine possible age/cohort differences in social judgment processes, young and older adults were asked to evaluate criminal offenders described in case files that manipulated both race of offender and the extenuating circumstances preceding the crime. Direct mail was used to reach a wider sample; 218 young (M = 30.21 years) and 167 older (M = 68.57 years) adults provided usable responses. Older adults more strongly recommended parole and estimated less future crime than young adults. There were no age differences in attributions to the criminal's basic nature, but respondents from older age groups and earlier born cohorts more frequently attributed crimes to circumstances. Respondents' judgments of White and Black criminals were generally equitable. Findings suggest that older adults may attach greater importance to contextual factors in their judgments of criminals' actions and make more circumstantial attributions than young adults when there is sufficient context to offer a nondispositional account for behavior.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 127-135 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Adult Development |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2000 |
Funding
This research was supported by faculty development funds provided by Drake University. The author extends her appreciation to Judith Allen, Ph.D., for suggesting inclusion of the attribution measures, Susan Brandt for her assistance in data collection and coding, and George Miller, Ph.D., for his assistance in data analysis.
Keywords
- Adult age differences
- Attributions
- Postformal operations
- Prejudice
- Stereotyping
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Life-span and Life-course Studies
