Punishment: Encyclopedia - Punishment

Punishment

Physical abuse
Torture / Severe Corporal punishment

Psychological abuse
Humiliation / Intimidation / Bullying
Hate speech / Manipulation / Stalking
/ Coercive persuasion
Sexual abuse
Sexual assault / Rape
Sexual harassment

Child abuse / Domestic violence
Prisoner abuse / Elder abuse
Animal abuse

Police brutality
Human experimentation

Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer as a response to something unwanted that the wrongdoer has done. In psychological terms this is known as "positive punishment". "Negative punishment", on the other hand, is when something is removed from or denied to the punishee. A prisoner, for example, is both positively and negatively punished. He has an unpleasant thing imposed on him and also his freedom is removed. If the behavior does not decrease then it is not considered "punishment" in psychology terms.

Punishment - Scope of application

Most often, criminals are punished judicially, by fines, corporal punishment or custodial sentences such as prison.

• Children, pupils and other trainees are also punished by their educators or instructors (mainly parents, guardians, or teachers, tutors and coaches). The same used to apply to wives and unmarried daughters as they were not legally emancipated from 'paternal' (or succeeding marital) discipline.
• Slaves, domestic and other servants used to be punishable by their masters; in fact, even modern employees can still be subject to a contractual form of fine or demotion.
• Most hierarchical organizations, such as military and police forces, or even churches, still apply quite rigid internal discipline, even with a judicial system of their own (court martial, canonical courts).
• Punishment may also be applied on moral, especially religious, grounds, as in penance (which is voluntary) or imposed in a theocracy with a religious police (as in a strict Islamic state like Iran or under the Taliban) or (though not a true theocracy) by Inquisition.
• In a wider sense, often termed penalty, punishments can be incurred for infringing the rules of a game, as in sports, hazing (e.g. in paddle games) etcetera. These include:
  • Being sent off or sent to the "sin bin" - time in sin-bin varies from game to game (45 seconds in water polo, 2-10 minutes in ice hockey, 10 minutes in rugby, etc.)
  • The other team gets a shot at the goal.

Punishment - History and rationale

Michel Foucault describes in detail the evolution of punishment from hanging, drawing and quartering of medieval times to the modern systems of fines and prisons. He sees a trend in criminal punishment from vengeance by the King to a more practical, utilitarian concern for deterrence and rehabilitation.

A particularly harsh punishment is sometimes said to be draconian, after Draco, the lawgiver of the classical polis of Athens. But as the adjective Spartan still testifies, its wholly militarized rival Sparta was the harshest a state of law can be on its own citizens, e.g. crypteia.

In operant conditioning, punishment is the presentation of a stimulus contingent on a response which results in a decrease in response strength (as evidenced by a decrease in the frequency of response). The effectiveness of punishment in suppressing the response depends on many factors, including the intensity of the stimulus and the consistency with which the stimulus is presented when the response occurs. In parenting, additional factors that increase the effectiveness of punishment include a verbal explanation of the reason for the punishment and a good relationship between the parent and the child. Punishment can be divided into Positive punishment (the application of an aversive stimulus, such as pain) and Negative punishment (the removal or denial of a desired object or condition).

Punishment - Types of punishments

This is just a typology with some well-known examples. For a more exhaustive traetment follow the links, and for a more extensive list, use the category:punishments.

Punishment - Judicial and similar i.e. for crimes

• Socio-economical punishments:

• fines or loss of income
• confiscation
• demotion, suspension or expulsion (especially in a strict hierarchy, such as military or clergy)
• restriction or loss of civic and other rights, in the extreme even civil death

• physical punishments (see that article) :

• corporal punishment s.s.

Though the words physical and corporal simply derive from the Latin viz. Greek words for body, CP is often used more specificly to refer only to various forms of painful beating on body parts, usually taking the form of whipping or caning with various implements, and markings such as branding or mutilations such as amputation and castration. Legality of these varies from country to country. However it can be defined more widely:

• capital punishment is the most extreme form of punishment as it ends all bodily functions for good (used by a substantial number of countries, ironically including some that declare mere beating inhumane - see use of death penalty worldwide)
• various uncomfortable positions, such as in too confined spaces or being tied down long in an unnatural position that puts muscles under increasingly painful stress, e.g. lying with the English imposed on Boer boys emprisoned on Bermuda 1899-1902 in a cruel experiment of Anglicizing 'reeducation' : "they were made to lie down on their backs on the ground with one army blanket beneath and one on top, their outstretched legs tied by the feet to pegs hammered into the ground, while their arms were stretched out above their heads, with their hands manacled and also tied to a peg in the ground. In this excruciating position they had to spend the night before receiving the following morning the prescribed number of whip lashes across the bare back [i.e. buttocks] while naked and held over a barrel. One Tommy held his ankles, another would clasped his hands together behind the boy's head and pushed it downwards" for such 'rebellious' misdeeds as speaking and singing their native Afrikaans (condensed translation from Penkoppe van die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog [Penkops of the Second War for Independence] 1899 - 1902 by Pets Marais)
• custodial sentences include imprisonment and other forms of forced detention (e.g. involuntary institutional psychiatry) and hard labor are in fact also physical punishments, even if no actual beatings are in force internally
• forms of deprivation of sleep, food etcetera, though these are often unofficial or accessory
• excessive physical efforts such as prolonged calisthetics, holding up a heavy object
• banishment, restraining order
• clinical castration for sexual assault is being tried in a few countries but may lead to charges of eugenics, since the individual is rendered infertile as a result

• public humiliation often combines social elements with corporal punishment, and indeed often punishments from two or more categories are combined (especially when these are meant reinforce each-other's effect) as in the logic of penal harm

Punishment - For children

Common punishments imposed by educators (parents, guardians or teachers etcetera; traditions differ greatly in time, place and cultural sphere) are :

• corporal punishment as above - mainly spanking in various mode) (banned in some countries, in others even prescribed by law) and uncomfortable and/or humilitating positions, e.g. kneeling, holding a heavy object up;

as this is disapproved of by many modern educators, and banned by certain legislators, there is an increase of alternative punishments, physical or other, such as:

• time-outs such as corner-time or even locking up in a dark place
• writing lines or an imposed essay (often on a 'fitting' subject)
• mild forms of custodial sentences
  • detention, often combined with tasks as study, (extra) homework etc.
  • grounding in general or specific refusal of permisson to participate in some fun activity or to see a friend (usually seen as a bad influence)
• temporary removal of privileges (e.g. telephone, TV or computer use)
• confiscation (usually temporary) of a toy or other personal item, separation from a pet
• denial of treats such as dessert, favorite meal, even no dinner
• extra chores
• writing lines or an imposed essay (often on a 'fitting' subject)
• fining, usually by deduction from the allowance

Even the above have come under criticism in recent times. Arguments against non-violent modification of behavior include the issue of ethics, and whether your will should be forced on your children. Taking Children Seriously is a way to address the concerns mentioned in this paragraph.

Punishment - Other

• penance
• psychological punishments

Punishment - Possible reasons for punishment

See also: Criminal justice

Deterrence means dissuading someone from future wrongdoing, by making the punishment severe enough that the benefit gained from the offense is outweighed by the cost (and probability) of the punishment.

Deterrence is a very common reason given for why someone should be punished. However, it is sometimes claimed that using punishment as a deterrent has the fundamental flaw that human nature tends to ignore the possibility of punishment until they are caught, and actually can be attracted even more to the 'forbidden fruit', or even for various reasons glorify the punishee, e.g. admiring a fellow for 'taking it like a man'.

Some punishment includes work to reform and rehabilitate the wrongdoer so that they will not commit the offense again. This is different from deterrence, in that the goal here is to change the offender's attitude to what they have done, and make them come to accept that their behaviour was wrong.

In the prison system, imprisonment has the effect of confining prisoners, physically preventing them from committing crimes against those outside, i.e. protecting the community. The most dangerous criminals may be sentenced to life imprisonment, or even to irreparable alternatives -the death penalty, or castration of sexual offenders- for this reason of the common good.

For minor offences, punishment may take the form of the offender "righting the wrong"; for example, a vandal might be made to clean up the mess he has made.

In more serious cases, punishment in the form of fines and compensation payments may also be considered a sort of "restoration".

Retribution is the practice of "getting even" with a wrongdoer - the suffering of the wrongdoer is seen as good in itself, even if it has no other benefits. One reason for societies to include this judicial element is to diminish the perceived need for street justice, blood revenge, and vigilantism.

• A specific way to elaborate this concept in the very punishment is the mirror punishment, a penal form of 'poetic justice' which reflects the nature or means of the crime in the means of (mainly corporal) punishment.

Often this implies punishing the part of the victim's body used to commit the crime. Extreme examples include the amputation of the hands of a thief, as still permitted by Sharia law, or during the Middle Ages in Europe; or disabling the foot or leg of a runaway slave. Other examples include the punishment of adulterous women by the insertion of irritating substances, such as hot pepper, into their vagina, e.g. the French song Les Radis by Georges Brassens tells of an adulterous woman being punished by the public insertion of a large radish into her rectum. A less extreme example is the American tradition of putting soap into a child's mouth for using inappropriate language (called "washing your mouth out with soap").

Another method is to mirror the physical method of the crime, e.g. executing a murderer with his own weapon, or more far-fetched, such as boiling alive a counterfeiter (because bullion is boiled to mint).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Punishment", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki