Two hypotheses, used in death penalty debates by opponents, present contrasting predictions about the effects of large numbers of executions upon public opinion. Research about death penalty attitudes has revealed various underlying factors: fear of crime, belief in deterrence, desire for retribution, and concern with crime control. It appears that concern with crime control has been subsumed in the symbolic attitudes concerning the death penalty that are a part of the socio-political nature of the prevailing self-image. The developmental features of these symbolic attitudes and the weakening of societal restraints against violence in general suggest that a brutalization hypothesis which predicts a public acceptance of high levels of executions is more supportable than a bloodbath reaction hypothesis. 70 references. (Author abstract)