Although there is a substantial body of work examining attitudes towards the police, no measure has been developed to consistently capture citizens' beliefs regarding police legitimacy. Given that police conduct has garnered a great deal of attention, particularly in the last few years, the current research sought to develop a scale measuring perceptions of police legitimacy. Across multiple studies, items were created and the scale's factor structure explored (Study 1 and Study 2), the factor structure was confirmed (Study 3a), and the predictive validity of the scale was tested (Studies 3b-3d). Results provided evidence for a reliable and valid 34-item scale with a single-factor solution that predicted multiple outcomes, including justification of a police shooting (Study 3b) and resource allocation to a police charity (Study 3c), as well as correlations with self-reported criminal activity, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation (Study 3d). We hope this scale will be useful in the study of police legitimacy, expanding the current literature, and improving police-community relations. (PsycINFO Database Record
The purpose of the present study was to examine mock juror perceptions of rape victims based on the sex of the offender and victim (male offender/female victim vs. female offender/male victim), relationship to the offender (stranger vs. acquaintance vs. intimate partner), revictimization (no revictimization vs. revictimization), and individual differences in rape myth acceptance (RMA) and life history strategy (LHS). Participants (N = 332) read a vignette describing a forcible rape scenario and completed victim and perpetrator blame scales, the Mini-K, and a gender-neutral Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Results indicated increased victim blame in revictimization conditions, as well as female offender/male victim conditions. A significant mediation effect of LHS on victim blame through the indirect effect of RMA was found, which is predicted from life history theory. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Life history strategy (LHS) and life history contingencies (LHCs) should theoretically influence the use of exploitative and deceptive resource acquisition strategies. However, little research has been done in this area. The purpose of the present work was to create measures of exploitative strategies and test the predictions of life history theory. Pilot studies developed and validated a behavioral measure of cheating called the Dot Game. The role of individual LHS and LHCs (manipulated via validated story primes) on cheating was investigated in Study 1. Studies 2a through 2c were conducted to develop and validate a self-report measure called the Exploitative and Deceptive Resource Acquisition Strategy Scale (EDRASS). Finally, Study 3 investigated life history and EDRASS. Results indicated that while LHS influences exploitative strategies, life history contingences had little effect. Implications of these findings are discussed.
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