Rick Trinkner

Broadly speaking, Trinkner's research seeks to understand why people follow rules and defer to authority and how regulatory agencies can best foster support from those they serve. Much of this work focuses on how people, particularly young adults, are socialized into rule-based institutions and how this process shapes their views on the legitimacy of authority, their acquisition of legal values and attitudes, and their engagement in behavior governed by formal codes of conduct.   

Trinkner is an associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University.