Recommended Punishment as a Function of Injurious Intent,Actual Harm Done,and Intended Consequences

Abstract

The hypothesis that the severity of recommended punish- ment increases both with increasing levels of injurious intent and actual harm done was tested and confirmed. Further, (a) estimates of similar behavior in the future varied as a function of the dis- crepancy between level of injurious intent and actual harm done and (b) actors who intended offensive consequences were judged more harshly than those who intended defensive consequences.