The Relationship between Attitudes toward Criminal Justice and Belief in Naïve Concepts of Free Will

Previous studies have demonstrated a correlation between strong beliefs in free will and punitiveness. However, these studies have overlooked broader attitudes toward criminal justice (ACJ) and relied on scales derived from researchers’ theoretical concepts. In this context, this study explored how lay beliefs in free will (LBFW) are related to ACJ. Results from a web-based survey of 201 Japanese adults showed that support for harsher punishment was positively related to the alternative possibility factor on the LBFW scale, whereas support for criminalization, and promotion of rehabilitation, and early extension of rehabilitation were positively related to being free from constraint factors.