ArticlePloS one2020
The source of punishment matters: Third-party punishment restrains observers from selfish behaviors better than does second-party punishment by shaping norm perceptions.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Influence of Social Relationships on Third-Party Punishment: The Roles of Relationship Type Congruence and Threat Perception.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Interdisciplinary research approach based on a mixed-methods design to explore patient altruism at the end of life: a study protocol.BMJ open · 2024Article
- "Watching Eyes" Triggers Third-Party Punishment: The Role of Emotion Within the Eyes.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
Punishment aims to deter individuals' selfish behaviors, but it can occasionally backfire. Some scholars have proposed promoting prosocial behaviors using punishment that communicates positive social norms because it provides additional motivation. However, it is unclear which factors affect the norm expressive function of punishment. This study proposes that third-party punishment communicates more positive normative information, and thus, promotes more prosocial behavior in observers than does second-party punishment. Using dictator games, we investigated the effects of second-party punishment compared to third-party punishment of another's unfair sharing on observers' norm perceptions and subsequent sharing decision-making. Two experiments consistently found that third-party punishment was more effective than second-party punishment at inducing observers' beliefs that unfair distribution was unusual (descriptive norm) and unacceptable (injunctive norm). The altered descriptive but not injunctive norm perception further guided individuals' own sharing behaviors. Taken together, these results suggest that third-party punishment might be better than second-party punishment at decreasing selfish behaviors by shaping individuals' norm perceptions, especially descriptive norm perception, regarding the relevant behaviors.
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