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30 Crim. Just. Stud. 1 (2017)

handle is hein.journals/cjscj30 and id is 1 raw text is: CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDIES, 2017 VOL. 30, NO. 1, 1-16 ledge http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2016.1269325 Taylor & Francis Group College education, major, or criminology classes? An examination of what drives students' level of punitiveness Rebecca Ridener and Sarah Kuehn Criminology & Security Studies, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock, PA, USA ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY This study examines the level of punitiveness of criminology Received 1 July2016 and criminal justice (CRIM) majors and non-majors. In particular, Accepted 4 December 2016 undergraduate students from a mid-western university situated in KEYWORDS a rural area were surveyed to determine if college education, major, Punitiveness; college or exposure to CRIM classes impacts their punitive attitudes towards students; criminology; offenders. Regression analyses suggest that it is not the number of criminal justice; CRIM classes or the liberalization effect of college but the major that liberalization; attitudes best predicts the level of punitiveness. Results also indicate that predictors of punitiveness differ between CRIM majors and non-CRIM majors. Implications of these findings are discussed. Introduction Prior research has examined if college education has a liberalization effect on students' attitudes (Eskridge, 1999; Funk & Willits, 1987). It is argued that college liberalizes students by exposing them to different opinions and lifestyles both within and outside of the class- room (Fabianic, 1979). The focus of this study is to examine the liberalization effect in terms of students'punitive attitudes towards offenders. Specifically, this study seeks to determine if this effect is achieved through class level, major, or exposure to criminology and criminal justice (CRIM) classes. While previous studies have examined the level of punitiveness for CRIM majors vs. non-CRIM majors, this study takes a novel approach by also including the number of CRIM classes taken by all students regardless of their academic field of study.This is important because previous studies are based on the assumption that CRIM majors have taken several CRIM classes and definitely more classes on the subject than non-CRIM majors. This assumption might not be accurate because students can declare their major in CRIM without having taken any classes in the subject, switch from CRIM to a different major after taking several CRIM classes, or be a non-major who takes liberal studies classes in CRIM. Therefore, the consideration of both major and CRIM classes in the analyses helps specify if it is taking CRIM classes and learning about crime and criminal justice issues or being a CRIM major that influences students'level of punitiveness. The latter would imply that criminology majors, regardless of how many CRIM classes they have taken, already come into this major with set attitudes, which are different from students in other fields of study. CONTACT Rebecca Ridener 0 rebecca.ridener@sru.edu © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

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