Free will, determinism, and criminality: The self-perception of prison inmates

Abstract

This study investigated the criminal self-perception of adult offenders, using the free will/determinism dichotomy. Inmates in a medium-custody institution were surveyed and asked to identify themselves as having committed offenses due to “free will” or “deterministic” reasons and to indicate, on the same dichotomy, how they believed their criminality was viewed by fellow inmates, the public, judges, police, correctional officers, treatment personnel, etc. The results indicate that these offenders could place themselves and the perceptions of others on this dichotomy. The correlates of the offenders' self-perceptions of criminality were identified using discriminant analysis. Age, type of offense, indeterminate /determinate sentence, participation in counseling, and perceptions of the views of treatment staff, other inmates, custodial staff, and the police all were found to be important. The implications of this study for corrections and the literature are discussed.