Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Br J Soc Psychol. 2013 Jun;52(2):329-44. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02079.x. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
The present research examined the psychological origins of retributive reactions, which are defined as independent observers' anger-based emotions, demonized perceptions, and punishment intentions in response to criminal offenders. Based on the idea that society's justice system has an autonomy-protective function, we reason that chronic autonomy interacts with situational autonomy cues (i.e., opportunities to make choices) to predict retributive reactions to criminal offenders. More specifically, we hypothesized that choice opportunities in an unrelated decision-making context would prompt people to display stronger retributive reactions to offenders than no-choice opportunities, and that these effects of choice would be particularly pronounced among people who chronically experience deprivation of autonomy needs. Results from two experiments supported this hypothesis. It is concluded that retributive reactions to criminal offenders originate from a desire to regulate basic autonomy needs.
本研究考察了报应反应的心理根源，报应反应是指独立观察者在看到犯罪者时所产生的基于愤怒的情绪、妖魔化的认知和惩罚意图。基于社会正义系统具有自主保护功能这一观点，我们推断，慢性自主与情境自主线索（即做出选择的机会）相互作用，从而预测对犯罪者的报应反应。更具体地说，我们假设在不相关的决策情境中提供选择机会会促使人们对犯罪者表现出更强的报应反应，而这种选择的影响在那些长期经历自主需求被剥夺的人身上尤为明显。两个实验的结果支持了这一假设。研究结论认为，对犯罪者的报应反应源于对基本自主需求的调节。
