The role of social perceptions, beliefs, and emotions on support for punitive action toward drug dealers and users / Paul Danielle P. Labor / Maria Cecilia C. Gastardo-Conaco

Public attitudes toward drug sellers/pushers and users have generally been negative (i.e. Bryan, Moran, Farrell, & O'Brien, 2000; McCorkle,1993; World Health Organization, 2003) and there is significant support for their harsh punishment (McCorkle, 1993). However, research in punitiveness has not extensively explored the impact of social perceptions (i.e. perceived support for the president, perceived endorsement of harsher measures, beliefs on the country's state visà-vis the drug trade, and perceived relationship between drugs and crime), emotions (i.e. hope, compassion, anger, hatred, and fear), and other cognitive factors (i.e. dehumanization and redeemability) on people's punitiveness toward drug sellers/pushers and users. To address this dearth, two online surveys conducted with differing target objects (viz. drug sellers/pushers vs. drug users) were answered by a total of 436 participants. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that, when the target objects were drug sellers/pushers, support for punitive action was positively influenced by personal support for the president, perceived endorsement by the president of harsher measures, perceived relationship between drugs and crime, anger and hatred but negatively affected by compassion and redeemability. When punitiveness toward drug users was the issue, the significant predictors were personal support for the president, perceived relationship between drugs and crime, and hatred. Compassion, however, had a negative impact on punitiveness toward drug users. Implications on punitiveness research were discussed.

Psychology.