The nexus between attribution theory and racial attitudes: a test of racial attribution and public opinion of capital punishment

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that attribution theory and racial attitudes are among the most consistent attitudinal predictors of capital punishment opinion. This study explores the overlap of these two constructs, racial attribution, and its ability to account for support and opposition to the death penalty. Using data from the 1972–2016 cumulative data file of the General Social Survey, three logistic regression models were used to analyze the effect of internal and external racial attribution on capital punishment opinions for (a) the aggregate sample, (b) White respondents only, and (c) Black respondents only. Respondents were asked whether racial inequalities were due to structural disadvantages or personal deficiencies of Black Americans. Findings showed that respondents in all three models were more likely to support the death penalty when they attributed racial inequalities to personal deficiencies of Blacks and less likely to support the death penalty when they endorsed structural disadvantages, although the effects were somewhat muted for Black respondents. These findings suggest that ongoing public support for capital punishment in the United States is based at least in part on a fundamental attribution error in which Whites and some Blacks alike blame Blacks for their own deprivation.

KEYWORDS:

• Capital punishment opinion
• race
• racial attitudes
• attribution

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In a concurring opinion in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 1972), Justice Thurgood Marshall hypothesized that support for the death penalty would diminish if the public were better informed about the practical shortcomings and flaws in the administration of the death penalty, such as race and gender discrimination, the lack of a deterrent effect, and increased costs.

2. These include the GSS surveys from 1977, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.

3. The GSS data include only one additional racial category, ‘other.’ Given that this category is comprised of persons with diverse racial identities and that it only accounts for 4.9% of the GSS sample, this category was coded as missing.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adam Trahan

Adam Trahan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of North Texas. He received his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Indiana University. His research interests include capital punishment, jury behavior, and public opinion.

Kaleigh Laird

Kaleigh B. Laird is pursuing a Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Theory and Research at the University of North Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi. Her research interests include capital punishment, jury behavior, and prisoner reentry.