Live Poster Session:https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/96279598504
Eloise Linas
Eloise Linas is a freshman at Wesleyan University studying psychology and studio art. Her academic interests include the intersection of social behavior, public opinion, and identity.
Abstract: This study examines whether educational attainment and political party affiliation independently predict attitudes toward the death penalty. It researched to what extent do educational attainment and political party affiliation independently predict attitudes toward the death penalty? Using data from the 2024 General Social Survey (n = 3,309), bivariate analyses showed that both education and political affiliation were significantly associated with death penalty support, with higher support among Republicans and individuals with lower levels of education. However, multivariate logistic regression including both variables revealed that education was no longer a significant predictor once political affiliation was controlled for. Political identity remained a strong and consistent predictor, with individuals identifying closer to the Republican Party showing higher odds of supporting the death penalty. These findings suggest that the relationship between education and death penalty attitudes is largely explained by political affiliation, highlighting the central role of partisan identity in shaping views on criminal justice. The findings from this study have broader implications for understanding how political identity shapes criminal justice attitudes, suggesting that individuals may filter information through partisan lenses.Â