The Roles of Dehumanization and Moral Outrage in Retributive Justice

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2013 Apr 30

PMID 23626737

Citations 28

Authors

Brock Bastian

Thomas F Denson

Nick Haslam

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

When innocents are intentionally harmed, people are motivated to see that offenders get their "just deserts". The severity of the punishment they seek is driven by the perceived magnitude of the harm and moral outrage. The present research extended this model of retributive justice by incorporating the role of offender dehumanization. In three experiments relying on survey methodology in Australia and the United States, participants read about different crimes that varied by type (child molestation, violent, or white collar - Studies 1 and 2) or severity (Study 3). The findings demonstrated that both moral outrage and dehumanization predicted punishment independently of the effects of crime type or crime severity. Both moral outrage and dehumanization mediated the relationship between perceived harm and severity of punishment. These findings highlight the role of offender dehumanization in punishment decisions and extend our understanding of processes implicated in retributive justice.

Citing Articles

Humanizing the Transgressor and Lightening the Immoral Behavior: The Role of Likeability Bias and Moral Rationalization.

Moreno-Gata S, Rodriguez-Torres R, Betancor V, Rodriguez-Perez A Behav Sci (Basel). 2025; 14(12.

PMID: 39767347 PMC: 11673505. DOI: 10.3390/bs14121206.

Attribution of undesirable character traits, rather than trait-based dehumanization, predicts punishment decisions.

Brennan R, Enock F, Over H R Soc Open Sci. 2024; 11(7):240087.

PMID: 39021773 PMC: 11251770. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240087.

Understanding the support for gender-based harassment perpetrators: the role of closeness and empathy.

Borges-Castells N, Betancor V, Rodriguez-Perez A Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1418404.

PMID: 38993338 PMC: 11236737. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1418404.

The effect of wrongdoer's status on observer punishment recommendations: the mediating role of envy and the moderating role of belief in a just world.

Lin Z, Cui F, Wu Y, Wei Q Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1227961.

PMID: 38425565 PMC: 10902064. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1227961.

Cultural variations in perceptions and reactions to social norm transgressions: a comparative study.

Chen-Xia X, Betancor V, Rodriguez-Gomez L, Rodriguez-Perez A Front Psychol. 2023; 14:1243955.

PMID: 37799515 PMC: 10548130. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1243955.

References

Haslam N . Dehumanization: an integrative review. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006; 10(3):252-64. DOI: 10.1207/s15327957pspr1003_4. View

Leidner B, Castano E, Zaiser E, Giner-Sorolla R . Ingroup glorification, moral disengagement, and justice in the context of collective violence. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2010; 36(8):1115-29. DOI: 10.1177/0146167210376391. View

Alicke M . Culpable control and the psychology of blame. Psychol Bull. 2000; 126(4):556-74. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.126.4.556. View

Hodson G, Costello K . Interpersonal disgust, ideological orientations, and dehumanization as predictors of intergroup attitudes. Psychol Sci. 2007; 18(8):691-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01962.x. View

Harris L, Fiske S . Dehumanizing the lowest of the low: neuroimaging responses to extreme out-groups. Psychol Sci. 2006; 17(10):847-53. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01793.x. View

Pizarro D, Uhlmann E, Salovey P . Asymmetry in judgments of moral blame and praise: the role of perceived metadesires. Psychol Sci. 2003; 14(3):267-72. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9280.03433. View

Castano E, Giner-Sorolla R . Not quite human: infrahumanization in response to collective responsibility for intergroup killing. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2006; 90(5):804-18. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.804. View

Bandura A . Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2005; 3(3):193-209. DOI: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0303_3. View

Darley J, Carlsmith K, Robinson P . Incapacitation and just deserts as motives for punishment. Law Hum Behav. 2000; 24(6):659-83. DOI: 10.1023/a:1005552203727. View

10.

Fischer A, Roseman I . Beat them or ban them: the characteristics and social functions of anger and contempt. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2007; 93(1):103-15. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.1.103. View

11.

Darley J, Pittman T . The psychology of compensatory and retributive justice. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2003; 7(4):324-36. DOI: 10.1207/S15327957PSPR0704_05. View

12.

Carlsmith K, Darley J, Robinson P . Why do we punish? Deterrence and just deserts as motives for punishment. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2002; 83(2):284-299. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.83.2.284. View

13.

Preacher K, Hayes A . Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behav Res Methods. 2008; 40(3):879-91. DOI: 10.3758/brm.40.3.879. View

14.

Osofsky M, Bandura A, Zimbardo P . The role of moral disengagement in the execution process. Law Hum Behav. 2005; 29(4):371-93. DOI: 10.1007/s10979-005-4930-1. View

15.

Gutierrez R, Giner-Sorolla R . Anger, disgust, and presumption of harm as reactions to taboo-breaking behaviors. Emotion. 2007; 7(4):853-68. DOI: 10.1037/1528-3542.7.4.853. View

16.

Goff P, Eberhardt J, Williams M, Jackson M . Not yet human: implicit knowledge, historical dehumanization, and contemporary consequences. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008; 94(2):292-306. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.292. View

17.

Gray K, Wegner D . Moral typecasting: divergent perceptions of moral agents and moral patients. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2009; 96(3):505-20. DOI: 10.1037/a0013748. View

18.

Tetlock P, Kristel O, Elson S, Green M, LERNER J . The psychology of the unthinkable: taboo trade-offs, forbidden base rates, and heretical counterfactuals. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000; 78(5):853-70. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.78.5.853. View

19.

Brandt M, Reyna C . The Chain of Being: A Hierarchy of Morality. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2015; 6(5):428-46. DOI: 10.1177/1745691611414587. View

20.

Bastian B, Laham S, Wilson S, Haslam N, Koval P . Blaming, praising, and protecting our humanity: the implications of everyday dehumanization for judgments of moral status. Br J Soc Psychol. 2011; 50(3):469-83. DOI: 10.1348/014466610X521383. View