The Attitudes Toward Prisoners (ATP) Scale was created by Kenneth B. Melvin and colleagues (1985) to measure the attitudes of individuals towards prisoners. This scale has thirty-six statements, and these statements ask how individuals feel about certain topics surrounding prisoners. The answers for the statements are disagree strongly, disagree, undecided, agree, and agree strongly. A couple example statements from the scale are “Prisoners are different from most people ” and “The values of most prisoners are about the same as the rest of us” (Melvin et al. 1985).  There are no right or wrong answers to the questions and is completely based on the individuals’ attitudes and feelings. Once the scale is completed, the answers can be used to determine overall themes and attitudes toward prisoners.

The current study “A Scale to Measure Attitudes Toward Prisoners” by Melvin, Gramling, and Gardner in 1985 found results and current themes upon their research.  Five groups were studied; graduate students, aftercare counselors, incarcerated individuals, undergraduate students, and a community sample. Law enforcement officers had a variety of ATP scores depending on the location and position that an individual worked. Law enforcement had a majority of low ATP scores which was just as the negative group to compare with the five studied groups. All five of the other groups scored higher compared to law enforcement. The Reform and Rehabilitation group often had significantly higher ATP scores then other groups, which correlates with their profession. Race was studied as well; which resulted in no significant difference between blacks and whites. Two groups of white male students and white male officers found significant differences in ATP scores. Environment and profession were a direct influence on scores rather than race and gender.

The importance of the ATP scale is to examine the general attitudes towards prisoners. They used the scale because it has a good test-retest reliability and excellent internal consistency. The method of contrasted groups was used in an attempt to demonstrate validity. Other evidence of its importance is that it has been indicated that dogmatism (claiming principles are completely true) should be related to a rejection of those who rebel against authority. The ATP scale also differentiates among key groups in the predicted directions. The ATP scale could serve as a pre-test post-test measure of attitude change, given a valid treatment of such.

Critical Thinking Questions/Exercise

Students will complete the ATP scale questionnaire to experience the research that has been previously done and will continue to be done. After answering the questions and calculating individual students scores, discuss what factors could have affected one’s score.

1. Did personal factors for instance, family background, gender/sex/, race/ethnicity, education level, and past experiences contribute to an individual’s answers?
2. Why do students believe these factors are fundamental to an individual’s decision making process?

ATP Scale

The statements listed below describe different attitudes toward prisoners in jails and prisons in the United States. There are no right or wrong answers, only opinions. You are asked to express your feelings about each statement by indicating whether you (1) Disagree Strongly, (2) Disagree, (3) Undecided, (4) Agree, or (5) Agree Strongly. Indicate your opinion by writing the number that best describes your personal attitude in the left-hand margin . Please answer every item.

Rating Scale

1       2       3       4     5

Disagree Strongly(1)  Disagree (2)    Undecided (3)   Agree (4)  Agree Strongly (5)

______  1. Prisoners are different from most people.

______  2. Only a few prisoners are really dangerous.

______  3. Prisoners never change.

______  4. Most prisoners are victims of circumstance and deserve to be helped.

______  5. Prisoners have feelings like the rest of us.

______  6. It is not wise to trust a prisoner too far.

______  7. Prisoners are different from most people.

______  8. Prisoners are different from most people.

______  9. Prisoners are different from most people.

______  10. Most prisoners are stupid.

______  11. Prisoners need affection and praise just like anybody else.

______  12. You should not expect too much from a prisoner.

______  13. Trying to rehabilitate prisoners is a waste of time and money.

______  14. You never know when a prisoner is telling the truth.

______  15. Prisoners are no better or worse than other people.

______  16. You have to be constantly on your guard with prisoners.

______  17. In general, prisoners think and act alike.

______  18. If you give a prisoner your respect, he’ll give you the same.

______  19. Prisoners only think about themselves.

______  20. There are some prisoners I would trust with my life.

______  21. Prisoners will listen to reason.

______  22. Most prisoners are too lazy to earn an honest living.

______  23. I wouldn’t mind living next door to an ex-prisoner.

______  24. Prisoners are just plain mean at heart.

______  25. Prisoners are always trying to get something out of somebody.

______  26. The values of most prisoners are about the same as the rest of us.

______  27. I would never want one of my children dating an ex-prisoner.

______  28. Most prisoners have the capacity for love.

______  29. Prisoners are just plain immoral.

______  30. Prisoners should be under strict, harsh discipline.

______  31. In general, prisoners are basically bad people.

______  32. Most prisoners can be rehabilitated.

______  33. Some prisoners are pretty nice people.

______  34. I would like associating with some prisoners.

______  35. Prisoners respect only brute force.

______  36. If a person does well in prison, he should be let out on parole.

References

Melvin, K. B., Gramling, L. K., & Gardner, W. M. (1985). A scale to measure attitudes toward prisoners. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 12(2), 241-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854885012002006