Date of Award

4-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Psychological Science

Program

Psychological Science (MS)

First Advisor/Chairperson

Dr. Jon Barch

Abstract

Every day, incarcerated individuals are being released back into the general population having served their time. However, these released ex-offenders are 83% likely to re-offend if they are not able to reintegrate properly (Alper et al., 2018). The present research explored how various factors of ex-offenders and community observers could have an influence on attitudes towards ex-offenders upon reintegration. Specifically, we looked at the influence of three manipulated characteristics of a hypothetical ex-offender, race, gender, and age, which were presented to the participant in the form of a vignette. After reading one randomly assigned vignette, the participants were asked to rate their attitudes on three dependent measures (attitudes towards ex-offenders, explicit racial bias, and explicit gender bias). There were significant results showing a more positive attitude towards the Black male who didn’t take responsibility. All other results were not statistically significant. Despite the results, this research provided further evidence and future directions for understanding what factors influence positive attitudes towards ex-offenders to help them reintegrate successfully.

Access Type

Open Access

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