| People’s perceptions of authority and likelihood to report punishable behavior are shaped continually throughout development by both explicit and implicit learning across multiple settings and contexts. This study specifically explored how authority response to reported bullying in preadolescence and adolescence relate to adult perceptions of authority and likelihood to report crime. College students were asked to describe authority reactions to witnessed bullying during their preadolescent or adolescent schooling. When participants, particularly Non-Hispanic White and African American participants, witnessed authority question the reporter for more information, they were more likely to feel a responsibility to support legal authorities and defer to their decisions, which predicted more favorable views of police. That is, legitimacy of authority mediated the interaction between questioning the reporter for more information and positive perceptions of police, and this interaction appears to have been moderated by participants’ ethnicity. Other findings and implications are discussed. |
