Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This study analyzed how positive attitudes associated with individuals of high reproductive value impacted decision-making, specifically in the area of punishing offenders who commit crime. Reproductive value in this study was manipulated by controlling the age of both victims and offenders in a crime scenario; the type of crime was also manipulated to measure potential variation caused by differences in reproductive impact. The primary areas of research that supported this study are based on evolutionary psychology, which argues that human behavior is impacted by proximate factors in socio-environmental contexts (Crawford & Anderson, 1989). This study used a model that views evolutionary adaptations in terms of the potential costs and benefits associated with the attitudes and behaviors they elicit. Age in particular reflects an important evolutionary mating cue, with unique age preferences appearing for both men and women (Kenrick & Keefe, 1992). Also, research has shown various positive attitudes associated with individuals of different ages (Sng et al., 2019). Overall, it was hypothesized that individuals will have more positive attitudes towards individuals of high reproductive value and be more punishing towards offenders who harm individuals of high reproductive value. In the end, the results supported the conclusion that the kind of crime that was committed, as well as the age of the offender, affected perceptions of what constituted an appropriate punishment, with these factors specifically affecting recommendations for length of punishment. Contrary to what was expected, the age of the victim did not have a significant impact on punishment recommendations. This study served as an initial exploration into applying evolutionary theory to understanding some of the mixed results that are seen within criminal justice studies, with this information potentially having value for the purposes of understanding views during a trial.

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