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Testing a Psychodynamic Theory of Penal Severity

Testing a Psychodynamic Theory of Penal Severity ALTST & NZ JOLTRNAL OF CHI~llNOLOGY OUIlt> H)HOl 1:3 (99-10:21 TESTING A PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF PENAL SEVERITYl P N Crabosky " Introduction That violent societies tend to punish their transgressors with relative severity is a truism hardly worthy of much concerted scientific attention. But in what circumstances does a society respond with a harshness greater than that which might be expected by the violent propensities of its members? The research reported here constitutes an attempt to address that question. Attempts to explain intersocietal variations in the severity of penal sanctions have tended generally to be articulated in structural terms (Sorokin, 1937; Rusche and Kirchheimer, 1939; Spitzer, 1975). A few scholars, however, have sought to explain penal severity in terms of the magnitude and direction of aggressive behaviour expressed by mernbers of a society. An early theorist (Kann, 1941) suggested that severity would be greater in societies where there is a relative preponderance of outwardly directed aggression, and milder in those societies where aggressive impulses tend to be directed inward. A more recent study of primitive societies, however, reported a strong positive relationship between homicide, suicide and the severity of penal sanctions (Palmer. 196.5). This suggests that there may be http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology SAGE

Testing a Psychodynamic Theory of Penal Severity

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References (6)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
Copyright © by SAGE Publications
ISSN
0004-8658
eISSN
1837-9273
DOI
10.1177/000486588001300202
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ALTST & NZ JOLTRNAL OF CHI~llNOLOGY OUIlt> H)HOl 1:3 (99-10:21 TESTING A PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF PENAL SEVERITYl P N Crabosky " Introduction That violent societies tend to punish their transgressors with relative severity is a truism hardly worthy of much concerted scientific attention. But in what circumstances does a society respond with a harshness greater than that which might be expected by the violent propensities of its members? The research reported here constitutes an attempt to address that question. Attempts to explain intersocietal variations in the severity of penal sanctions have tended generally to be articulated in structural terms (Sorokin, 1937; Rusche and Kirchheimer, 1939; Spitzer, 1975). A few scholars, however, have sought to explain penal severity in terms of the magnitude and direction of aggressive behaviour expressed by mernbers of a society. An early theorist (Kann, 1941) suggested that severity would be greater in societies where there is a relative preponderance of outwardly directed aggression, and milder in those societies where aggressive impulses tend to be directed inward. A more recent study of primitive societies, however, reported a strong positive relationship between homicide, suicide and the severity of penal sanctions (Palmer. 196.5). This suggests that there may be

Journal

Australian & New Zealand Journal of CriminologySAGE

Published: Jun 1, 1980

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