Punishment, Revenge and Forgiveness

Punishment, revenge, and forgiveness

What are the functions of punishment? Why do people want to take revenge? And under what conditions can they successfully reconcile? Such questions are important not only from a basic science perspective, but also in terms of gaining a better understanding of societal conflict. For example, our findings suggest that revenge can indeed be "sweet," that is, it satisfies a need for justice and can provide emotional satisfaction – but only if the perpetrator understands why revenge was taken against them. Thus, there seems to be the underlying motive of sending a message to the offender: "You can't treat me that way." We assume that both punishment and forgiveness can have prosocial motives (e.g., maintaining a relationship), self-centered or individualistic motives (e.g., to feel like a moral person), or competitive motivations (e.g., to devalue another person).

Selected Publications:

• Fischer, M., Twardawski, M., Strelan, P., & Gollwitzer, M. (in press). Victims need more than power: Empowerment and moral change independently predict victims’ willingness to reconcile. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Gollwitzer, M., & Okimoto, T. G. (2021). Downstream Consequences of Post-Transgression Responses: A Motive-Attribution Framework. Personality and Social Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/10888683211007021
• Strelan, P., Van Prooijen, J.-W., & Gollwitzer, M. (2020). When transgressors intend to cause harm: The empowering effects of revenge and forgiveness on victim well-being. British Journal of Social Psychology, 59, 447-469. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12357
• Twardawski, M., Tang, K. T., & Hilbig, B. E. (2020). Is it all about retribution? The flexibility of punishment goals. Social Justice Research, 33, 195-218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-020-00352-x
• Funk, F., McGeer, V., & Gollwitzer, M. (2014). Get the message: Punishment is satisfying if the transgressor responds to its communicative intent. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 986-997. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214533130