Psychological Studies of Punishment

Abstract

The human biological sciences, through experimentation involving a variety of organisms, have amassed considerable data on the psychological aspects of punishment. Professor Singer, an experimental psychologist, analyzes the results of these studies in light of their potential applicability in the field of criminal justice administration. After examining the theories, techniques, and effects, both desirable and undesirable, of punishment, and the variables that determine its effectiveness, the author concludes that punishment, if properly administered, can effectively suppress criminal behavior and suggests some novel forms and uses of punishment to achieve that end. t This Article was suggested and all but midwifed by Clark A. Puntigam, lawyer and friend. Reviewers who have made substantial contributions of fact and interpretation to this Article are too numerous to mention. Their assistance was invaluable and is gratefully acknowledged.

Additive Effects of Certainty, Severity, and Celerity of Punishment on Judgments of Crime Deterrence Scale Value1

“…Pestello makes the same point when she notes that "while the concepts of speed and certainty are conceptually different, it is plausible that empirically these two variables blend together' ' (1984, p. 602). Many of Singer's (1970) remarks support this basic argument.…”

“…The package of outcomes displayed in Figure 1 suggests a series of obvious trade-off options that make good psychological sense, and to which in a general way Singer (1970) earlier drew attention. Thus, for aggravated physical assault, say, a mild-severity/high-certainty threat of punishment may be roughly equivalent in judged deterrence value to a strong-severity/low-certainty threat of punishment.…”

Deterrence: Testing the Effects of Perceived Sanction Certainty on Probation Violations

“…Likewise, Beccaria (1963) noted that the certainty of punishment will always make a stronger impression than the fear of more severe sanctions that is combined with the hope of impunity. Singer (1970) and Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) further contended that offenders are often "presently oriented" such that their behaviors are more likely affected by consequences of crimes that are immediate and certain rather than severe but uncertain. In their exhaustive review of deterrence research, Blumstein, Cohen and Nagin (1978) also contended that deterrence first depends on the perceived certainty of punishments and then on consideration of the severity of punishments.…”

Atos de corrupção como comportamento de escolha : estudos experimentais sobre os efeitos da magnitude e da probabilidade da punição em humanos

“…Segundo o autor, uma evidência dessa afirmativa é que, por centenas de anos, alguns crimes foram punidos com pena de morte e isso não teria sido suficiente para acabar com tais atos. Para Singer (1970), quanto maior for a probabilidade da punição, tanto mais eficaz ela será para reduzir o comportamento.…”

“…Regressão linear do logaritmo da razão de respostas em função do logaritmo dos pontos obtidos por subgrupo no Experimento 2. (Singer, 1970).…”