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Deterrence: Some Theoretical Considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

Michael R. Geerken  and
Walter R. Gove
Walter R. Gove
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
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During the first half of this century, most research on deterrence suggested that punishment had little effect on behavior. These findings tended to confirm the ideological position of most sociologists, who generally assumed that criminal behavior was not and probably could not be controlled by legal sanctions. However, recent developments indicate that this assumption is in error. First, laboratory research (e.g., Banduara, 1969:292-353; Bandua and Walters, 1963) has demonstrated that under certain conditions, punishment can effectively and efficiently control behavior, and that such control can be obtained through vicarious reinforcement. Second, and more important, research since 1960 by both economists and sociologists, generally more sophisticated than earlier work, suggests that legal sanctions often play a significant role in preventing criminal behavior. (See, for example, Chambliss, 1966; Gibbs, 1968; Tittle, 1969; Logan, 1972; Chiricos and Waldo, 1970; Tittle and Rowe, 1974; 1973; Jensen, 1969; Waldo and Chiricos, 1972; Phillips and Votey, 1972; Phillips, 1973). Thus the issue for future research is no longer whether legal sanctions ever deter criminal behavior, but the specification of the conditions under which they have such an effect. This paper seeks to develop some hypotheses to guide future research on these conditions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , Spring 1975 , pp. 497 - 513
Copyright
Copyright © 1975 The Law and Society Association

Footnotes

*

In writing this paper we benefited greatly from conversation with Bruce Mayhew. We would like to thank Lisa Heinrich, Jeff Reynolds and Mayer Zald for their comments on an earlier draft.

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