The roles of retribution and utility in determining punishment

被引:184
作者
Carlsmith, KM [1 ]
机构
[1] Colgate Univ, Dept Psychol, Hamilton, NY 13346 USA
关键词
retribution; just deserts; utility; punishment; decision making; justice; psychology; law;
D O I
10.1016/j.jesp.2005.06.007
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
Three studies examined the motives underlying people's desire to punish. In previous research, participants have read hypothetical criminal scenarios and assigned "fair" sentences to the perpetrators. Systematic manipulations within these scenarios revealed high sensitivity to factors associated with motives of retribution, but low sensitivity to utilitarian motives. This research identifies the types of information that people seek when punishing criminals, and explores how different types of information affect punishments and confidence ratings. Study 1 demonstrated that retribution information is more relevant to punishment than either deterrence or incapacitation information. Study 2 traced the information that people actually seek when punishing others and found a consistent preference for retribution information. Finally, Study 3 confirmed that retribution information increases participant confidence in assigned punishments. The results thus provide converging evidence that people punish primarily on the basis of retribution. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:437 / 451
页数:15
相关论文
共 39 条
[1]   CULPABLE CAUSATION [J].
ALICKE, MD .
JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 1992, 63 (03) :368-378
[2]  
Bentham J., 1962, WORKS J BENTHAM, P396
[3]   Why do we punish? Deterrence and just deserts as motives for punishment [J].
Carlsmith, KM ;
Darley, JM ;
Robinson, PH .
JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2002, 83 (02) :284-299
[4]  
Cooksey R. W., 1996, JUDGMENT ANAL THEORY
[5]   Incapacitation and just deserts as motives for punishment [J].
Darley, JM ;
Carlsmith, KM ;
Robinson, PH .
LAW AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR, 2000, 24 (06) :659-683
[6]   HARDENING OF THE ATTITUDES - AMERICANS VIEWS ON THE DEATH-PENALTY [J].
ELLSWORTH, PC ;
GROSS, SR .
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, 1994, 50 (02) :19-52
[7]   PUBLIC-OPINION AND CAPITAL-PUNISHMENT - A CLOSE EXAMINATION OF THE VIEWS OF ABOLITIONISTS AND RETENTIONISTS [J].
ELLSWORTH, PC ;
ROSS, L .
CRIME & DELINQUENCY, 1983, 29 (01) :116-169
[8]  
ELLSWORTH PC, 1998, HDB SOCIAL PSYCHOL, P684
[9]   Recidivism, proportionalism, and individualized punishment [J].
Finkel, NJ ;
Maloney, ST ;
Valbuena, MZ ;
Groscup, J .
AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST, 1996, 39 (04) :474-487
[10]  
Goldberg JH, 1999, EUR J SOC PSYCHOL, V29, P781, DOI 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199908/09)29:5/6<781::AID-EJSP960>3.3.CO