No abstract

The purpose of the current study was to explore how an incarcerated person's race/ethnicity, mental health status, and the type of conversion/lifestyle change experienced in prison would impact a mock parole board member's decisions, perceptions, and emotional reactions. A total of 720 MTurk participants were randomly assigned to read a case file summary of an incarcerated person that varied by his race/ethnicity (White/Black/Arab/Latino), mental health status (no mental health issues/diagnosed with schizophrenia), and the type of conversion/lifestyle change experienced while in prison (Christianity/Islam/atheism/secularism). Participants then responded to items relating to their decision to grant or deny parole, recidivism and rehabilitation, and their perceptions and emotional reactions toward the incarcerated person. It was found that when the incarcerated person converted to Christianity or had a secular lifestyle change, he was perceived more positively than when he converted to atheism. Also, he was perceived more positively if he had no mental illness rather than being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Participants also felt more empathy toward the incarcerated person when he was Black rather than Latino. These factors did impact the perceptions and emotional reactions of mock parole board members.