The Nexus Between Knowledge and Attitudes About White-Collar Crime: A Franco-American Comparison

Abstract

Research has documented growing support for a get-tough approach on white-collar crime among the American public. At the same time, punishment orientations seem to vary by demographic and background characteristics. The current study proposes to determine whether greater knowledge about white-collar crime influences attitudes toward it, and contrasts this relationship in the US to that in France. A total of 1068 participants from both countries answered an online survey that measured their level of familiarity with upper-world criminality as well as their perceived seriousness of white-collar crime scenarios and punitiveness toward elite offenders. In both countries, truth acceptance was generally associated with greater concern about white-collar crime and support for tougher sanctions against the perpetrators. Conversely, participants who adhered to white-collar crime myths tended to downplay the seriousness of the scenarios and to display greater leniency. Implications of these findings are discussed.