DISCERNING UNFAIRNESS WHERE OTHERS UNFAIR SANCTION PERCEPTIONS’ MAY NOT: LOW SELF-CONTROL AND zy ALEX R. PIQUERO LYNN LANGTON ZENTA GOMEZ-SMITH University of Florida KEYWORDS: deterrence, sanctions, defiance, self-control zyxw Criminologists have long recognized that whether one perceives a sanction as fair or unfair influences the deterrent success of sanctions and the legitimacy afforded to legal authority. Unfortunately, although several scholars have claimed that individual characteristics influence how sanctions are interpreted, very little research has explored the individual factors that influence how one perceives sanctions to be faidunfair. In this study, we take Gottfredson and Hirschi’s notion of self-control and use it to explain, in part, whether an individual perceives a sanction as faidunfair. We also examine how sanction perceptions and low self-control influence the perceived anger that may result from being singled out for sanctioning and whether self-control conditions the relationship between perceptions and anger. Our results suggest that individuals with low self-control are more likely to perceive sanctions as unfair, that unfair sanctions and low self-control lead to perceived anger for being singled out for punishment and that self- control conditions the effect of unfair sanction perceptions on perceived anger. Future directions are outlined. zyxw * We would like to thank the reviewers, the editor, as well Nicole Leeper Piquero, Greg Pogarsky and Steve Rice for useful comments and suggestions. All errors remain our own. Address all correspondence regarding this manuscript to: Alex R. Piquero, University of Florida, Center for Studies in Criminology & Law, P.O. Box 115950, 201 Walker Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-5950. Email: apiquero@ufl.edu. Phone: (352) 392-1025, ext. 213. CRIMINOLOGY VOLUME 42 NUMBER 3 2004 699