RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED AT A MINIMUM SECURITY PENITENTIARY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. A TWO-PART QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTING OF INDIVIDUAL BACKGROUND QUESTIONS AND THE ATTITUDE TOWARD PUNISHMENT OF CRIMINALS SCALE (ATPC) WAS ADMINISTERED TO CORRECTIONAL STAFF, TREATMENT PERSONNEL, MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, AND INMATES. AN ATCP SCORE WAS COMPUTED FOR EACH RESPONDENT AND CALCULATED FOR EACH BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTIC STUDIED. THE MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY USED IN THE ANALYSIS WERE THE MEAN AND THE STANDARD DEVIATION AND ETA SQUARED. ON THE BASIS OF MEAN DIFFERENCES AND DIRECTION, THE DATA SHOW THAT INMATES HOLD A LESS PUNITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD CRIMINALS THAN DO PRISON PERSONNEL AND THAT PERSONNEL WHO DO NOT HAVE EXTENSIVE INTERACTION WITH PRISONERS EXHIBIT A MORE PUNITIVE ATTITUDE THAN THOSE WHO DO. DATA ARE PRESENTED IN TABULAR FORM.