Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The survey was designed as a randomised experiment with four conditions:
(1) To test certain hypotheses about the influence of (i) the choice of sentence; (ii) judges' moral evaluation of offences; (iii) peers' moral evaluation of them; (iv) adult householders' moral evaluation of them.
(2) To intestigate whether public opinion polls on abortion have any influence over individual attitudes towards abortion.
Main Topics:

Attention to crime in newspapers, TV and radio, attention to opinion polls; ranking of common penalties used by courts; views about right and likely sentences for offences, perception of public opinion on abortion, own views on abortion, moral evaluation of non-wearing of seat-belts, standard demographic variables.
A battery of questions tested liberal/conservative attitudes towards, e.g. divorce, capital punishment. A 7-point scale on moral disapproval was piloted for the survey.