The public’s overestimation of immorality of formerly incarcerated people

Objectives: This study tests if the public overestimates the immoral behavior of formerly incarcerated people. Methods: In a benchmark study with people on parole and people without a criminal record, participants played a game that allowed them to deceive their counterparts in order to make more money. A subsequent prediction study asked an online US-nationally representative sample to estimate how both groups played the game. By comparing the estimated likelihoods to the observed likelihoods of deception we examine if people correctly assess the deception rates of both groups. Results Both groups showed an equal propensity to deceive. In contrast, respondents from the online sample believed that people on parole would be much more likely to deceive than their counterparts. Conclusions: The results suggest that the public holds stigmatizing attitudes towards formerly incarcerated people, which can be a detriment to successful reentry into their communities.