What Do We Communicate Through Punishment? The Critical Role of Perceived Punisher Motives in Making Punishment More Constructive

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Abstract

Through punishment, victims and third parties seek to communicate various “messages” to transgressors. But are the messages we wish to send effectively delivered and understood? This research explores how transgressors understand why they are being punished, and the influence of these subjective perceptions on attitudes and behaviour. In particular, we test the hypothesis that transgressors' inferences about punishers' social motives crucially shape post-punishment attitudes and behaviour. We present the results of three quantitative studies (N = 990) showing that transgressors may attribute two key motives to punishment: (1) that the punisher is trying to restore the transgressor’s social relationships as breached by the wrongdoing (relationship-oriented motive); and (2) that the punisher intends harm to the transgressor (harm-oriented motive). Attributing punishment to a relationship (vs. harm-oriented) motive increased prosocial attitudes and behaviour. We also find that interventions based on ideas of procedural justice may be effective insofar as they influence perceptions of these two punisher motives. Communicating punishment respectfully increased perceptions of a relationship-oriented motive and reduced perceptions of a harm-oriented motive, with downstream consequences for attitudes and behaviour. Implications are discussed, including recommendations on how to best communicate punishment both in penal and in broader decision-making contexts.

Authors

• Melissa de Vel-Palumbo, Flinders University

• Mathias Twardawski, LMU Munich

• Mario Gollwitzer, LMU Munich