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Why People Obey the Law

NCJ Number
122999
Author(s)
T R Tyler
Date Published
1990
Length
273 pages
Annotation
A 1984 Chicago survey of public attitudes toward the criminal justice system provided insight into why people obey the law.
Abstract
Interviews were held by telephone with 1,575 respondents. A random subset of 804 respondents was reinterviewed 1 year later. Respondents were asked about their views of the police and courts in Chicago and about their level of behavioral compliance with the law. Each respondent was also asked about personal experience with the police or courts during the 12 months preceding the interview. Cross-sectional analysis examined the relationship between attitudes and behavior measured at one point in time. Panel analysis used the data collected at both points in time to examine the relationship between changes in attitudes and changes in behavior. Results indicate that people are more likely to comply with the law when they feel that legal authorities are legitimate. Views about legitimacy are linked to judgments about the fairness of the procedures used by legal authorities. Results also suggest that instead of being concerned with "winning," people care about having neutral, honest authorities who allow them to state their views and treat them with dignity and respect. These findings question the adequacy of self-interest theories that currently dominate law, psychology, political science, sociology, and organizational theory. They imply that compliance with the law will be increased by strengthening normative commitment to legal authorities. 315 references, subject index.