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Socioeconomic Status and Perceptions of Personal Arrest Probabilities
Author(s) -
RICHARDS PAMELA,
TITTLE CHARLES R.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1982.tb00465.x
Subject(s) - socioeconomic status , perception , psychology , sample (material) , demography , social psychology , sociology , population , chemistry , chromatography , neuroscience
This article examines the relationship between individual's perceptions of arrest probabilities and socioeconomic status. Although actual arrest probabilities are generally thought to vary inversely with socioeconomic status, no theories predict how this should translate into patterns in perceived sanction risks. Variables that would influence socioeconomic patterns in risk assessment are identified and related to estimates of arrest probabilities. Survey data from a three‐state sample of adults show that lower‐status respondents perceive higher arrest risks than do upper‐status respondents. However, none of these differences can be explained by the theoretically relevant variables available in these data.