2026/07/01 by Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, Kaitlin Woolley, Victoria Liu +1 · 1 voice
paper · doi:10.5465/amproc.2026.22071abstract
openalex publication_date 2026/07/01 · openalex created_date 2026/07/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
In a just world, people judge wrongdoers based on what they did wrong—that is, their wrongdoing. Yet across 10 studies (N = 3,930), observers were more likely to judge and discriminate against wrongdoers when they learned the punishment the wrongdoer received versus the act of wrongdoing committed. This punishment penalty occurred both within and beyond the criminal justice system: for criminals convicted of crimes (Study 1), students suspended from school (Study 2), undergraduates placed on probation (Study 2), and employees penalized at work (Study 2). Why is punishment more stigmatizing than wrongdoing itself? We find that the standard punishments society metes out imply that the wrongdoer cannot change (Studies 3-4). Replacing standard punishments with reform-minded ones (Study 4) or highlighting the reform-minded features of standard punishments (Study 5) leads people to believe the offender can change, causing the punishment penalty to attenuate. Long-standing philosophies of justice suggest punishment is a tool for reform. Yet we find this statement is not true, psychologically. Society’s most common punishments led observers to believe the wrongdoer was less likely to change, and engendered discrimination.