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Description: Scholars have long engaged in an intellectual struggle to define the relationship between law and morality, a task that is especially complex when examining criminalization. To date, however, the so-called Hart–Devlin debate on the social control of morals through criminal law has been largely theoretical. This study empirically examines the link between perceptions of morality and corresponding views on criminalization on 11 low-consensus deviant behaviors, including drug offenses, victimless sex offenses, and criminal traffic offenses. Moreover, it examines the relationship between perceptions of law and morality on personal conduct that violates both social norms and criminal law. The analyses find strong support for an empirical link between conceptualizations of that which is perceived as immoral and that which is perceived as warranting criminal sanction for drug and traffic offense, but not for consensual sexual conduct. The analyses also support the proposition that morality appears to be a stronger mediator of deviant behavior than the law.
Suggested Citation:
Fradella, H. F., & Vogel, B. (2009). An empricial analysis of the relationship between law, morality, and personal conduct: Implications for theory and policy [Electronic Version]. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice,
5(2), 203–236.
Keywords: decriminalization, deviant behavior, Hart-Devlin debate, morality, social control, self-control theory
Date: Sep 23, 2009 | File Size: 422.35 Kb | Downloads: 1861