Stay Informed Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.
NCJRS Abstract
The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library . See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.
NCJ Number: 122999
Title: Why People Obey the Law
Author(s): T R Tyler
Date Published: 1990
Page Count: 273
Sponsoring Agency: Yale University Press
Publication Number: ISBN 0-300-04403-8
Sale Source: Yale University Press
Type: Survey
Language: English
Country: United States of America
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.
Main Term(s): Public Opinion of the Courts; Public Opinion of the Police
Index Term(s): Deterrence effectiveness; Illinois
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=122999
*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback .
. A title search of
WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click
"Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain
active for 30 minutes. Learn More.
