The vengeance puzzle—retributive justice or hostile aggression?

Abstract

Vengeance is understood as a blend of instrumental and hostile aggression. Taking the Berkowitz neoassociationistic aggression model as a basis, 84 students received a priming manipulation (anger, fear, or control condition). Afterwards, they judged one of four vengeance scenarios that differed in victim-perpetrator relationship (coworker vs. stranger) and in the attributed motive of the perpetrator. Priming had an influence on judgments of injustice and on anticipated fury, but no effect whatsoever on aggression (measured as the decrease in well-being wished for the perpetrator). The type of relationship had an effect only on anticipated disappointment. The main effects of motive were found on aggression and on the anticipated feeling of the perpetrator after the act. Aggression could be predicted from the motive of the perpetrator and well-being of the victim after the transgression. Neither anticipated fury, importance of deterrence, nor judgment of injustice predicted aggression. Aggr. Behav. 31:589-600, 2005. r

Support for religio‐political aggression among teenaged boys in Gaza: Part I: psychological findings

“…Such an attribution might lead to a desire for vengeance [e.g. Pyszczynski et al, 2008;Schmid, 2005] and account for the trends suggesting that psychological distress is associated with support for RPA in this sample.…”

Vengeance, HIV Disclosure, and Perceived HIV Transmission to Others

“…Research into vengeance suggests that time since a transgression and transgressor identification both vastly affect feelings and expressions of vengefulness (Schmid 2005); however, these two variables do not influence vengefulness independently (Wohl and McGrath 2007). Transgressor identification tends to moderate time since the transgression such that if the transgressor is known, vengeance is initially high but lessens over time.…”

“…Yet, unprotected anal intercourse may be present in men who also report higher degrees of vengefulness, as recent research shows a strong association between this negative trait and outward blame (Schmid 2005). Currently, the degree to which HIV-positive MSM are vengeful is unknown.…”

“…That is, outward-blame was the closest conceptualized variable to vengeance (Schmid 2005) and tested in previous studies into MSM HIV-positive behavior. Thus we expected vengeance to negatively influence condom use, much as it had for outward-blame.…”

An Eye for an Eye: Gender Revanchisme and the Negation of Attachment in Domestic Violence Policy

“…Not only are domestic violence perpetrators more likely to be labeled as criminals for their behavior than other types of family violence perpetrators, they are labeled as especially blameworthy criminals of a sort deserving only retributive punishment, with no importance attached to effective rehabilitation or treatment. Schmid (2005) summarizes the psychological, legal, and sociological complexity of vengeance:…”