Fundamental Attribution Error

In psychology, there is an effect known as the fundamental attribution error. It's basically the thing that makes it so when you almost miss your exit and have to cut a few people off to get to the right lane, you know it was because you had the worst morning and nothing went right and you were going through your presentation for work and didn't realize your exit was coming up.

If someone else does it, well they should've been better prepared. They have to know they aren't the only ones on the road. You can't believe they'd be so self-centered and just plain stupid.

Obviously, we understand that our environment can affect us. We may snap at a friend because of a bad day at school and a friend can understand that. But that random lady at the store who just death glared at you the entire time you were trying to do your job? She's definitely a bitch. We don't take into account that maybe her environment or situation has caused her to be that way. We attribute other people's actions solely to their disposition or choices.

And I think the criminal justice system makes that mistake a lot. If you live in a terrible neighborhood and have to steal to get by, being locked up for a few years won't change that. You're still poor. You still have no skills (except whatever you used to break into people's houses). Sure, jail sucked, but you were fed and had clothing and were taken care of medically. Jail isn't supposed to be pleasant but it can't be a torture camp. As such, I find it hard to believe that there aren't people out there who prefer jail to their life outside bars. That is not an effective punishment, and the second they're out, people have little reason not to just go back to what they were doing. Even if they don't want to go back to jail, the mindset doesn't become "Don't steal," just "Don't get caught."

The fact is that punishment rarely changes behavior in a lasting fashion. If you scream at your kids every time they get lower than an A or you catch them doing something you don't like, they will stop showing you their report cards and start hiding more from you. Sure, if you put them on a tight leash, they may not have the opportunity to do much, but what happens when you go on a business trip? You haven't changed their attitudes, just their behaviors.

In the United States in 1994, recidivism rates for various types of thievery ranged from 70-79% Nearly 4/5 of people who were arrested for vehicle theft are arrested again within 3 years. That's not just the majority, but the majority by far. That's terrible.

Oddly enough, the same study says that the lowest rate of recidivism came from the categories of rape and homicide, coming in at 2.5% and 1.3%, respectively. These are crimes that the majority of people, including many of my co-bloggers, believe should be punished most severely with the least amount of rehabilitation. And I, for the most part, agree. I believe the relatively low recidivism rate probably has more to do with the long sentencing involved in these types of crimes and the fact that the study only included 3 years.

The fact is that in many cases, particularly those related to theft or drugs, I believe the environment is the problem, and sticking a person in very, very expensive incarceration (It's about $30,000 a year to house a single inmate), just delays the problem resurfacing. I'm not saying the person had to turn to crime; that was obviously their choice, but if they made that choice based on factors that haven't changed, what do you think they're going to do? If it were as simple as "Oh, I guess stealing is bad, I'll get a real job and contribute to society!" do you think they'd wait until after they had a criminal record? That just makes it harder. Rehabilitation in this case would make it so the person has job skills and is ready to re-enter society but with a positive goal in mind. It aims to make it so crime is neither necessary nor desired.

Punishment is supposed to be a deterrent, but if someone isn't deterred from doing it in the first place, it seems like the fear of going back rarely has them changing their behaviors. The fact is that incarceration isn't about the criminals. Sure, sending someone to jail will make the reality of what that means far more clear, but the goal of punishment is deterrence, so if they've gotten to jail, incarceration has already failed. I really think in the vast majority of non-violent cases, the goal should be making the criminal into a person that can contribute to society.

Anyway, that wraps it up for this week. Tomorrow will contain our normal topic announcement and also a special announcement of another kind...

See you all then. :)