A cultural explanation for parole decisions in the United States
Clicks: 1
ID: 319393
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This
article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score —
reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
Reader Engagement
0.0
/100
1 views
0 readers
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Ranked #83 of 88 articles by views in PNAS nexus
Most read
Least read
Bar heights use a square-root scale.
Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet mintedCreate a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.
5
SUSD
one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Abstract Racial disparities in discretionary parole decisions persist, yet their cultural underpinnings remain poorly understood. The US justice system, shaped by White American cultural norms, may implicitly favor parole candidates who explain their crimes through dispositional rather than situational attributions. Importantly, however, findings from studies of cultural psychology suggest that while White Americans tend to frame behavior in dispositional terms, Black, Hispanic, and East Asian Americans are more likely to acknowledge situational contributors. Across four studies, we tested whether these attributional differences can contribute to racial disparities in parole. In studies 1 and 2 (total n = 588), White American mock parole candidates were more likely to use dispositional attributions to explain their hypothetical crimes, while those from racial and cultural minorities either showed no preference or favored situational explanations. In study 3 (n = 512), White American mock parole commissioners perceived candidates providing dispositional (vs. situational) explanations about their crimes as less likely to reoffend. In study 4, analyzing 183 real parole hearings via natural language processing methods, we found that candidates granted parole used dispositional framing of their past criminal offenses more often. These findings highlight a cultural mismatch between minority parole candidates and the expectations of the US justice system, potentially perpetuating racial disparities. Addressing this misalignment may offer a new pathway for reducing systemic bias in discretionary parole decisions.
| Reference Key |
openalex_W7166859240
Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using
SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
|
|---|---|
| Authors | Amrita Kaushik Telidevara, Ryan L. Boyd, BoKyung Park |
| Journal | PNAS nexus |
| Year | 2026 |
| DOI |
10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag193
|
| URL | |
| Keywords | Keywords not found |
Citations
No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.