Severity of punishment
Definition
The magnitude or harshness of the penalty imposed. Classical theory holds that severity should be proportionate to harm. Modern research finds that increasing severity beyond a threshold has little additional deterrent effect.
Related terms
- Bounded rationality
- The recognition, from behavioural economics and psychology, that human decision-making is rational only within limits set by available information, cognitive capacity, and...
- Certainty of punishment
- The probability that an offence will be detected and lead to punishment. Classical theory and empirical research both identify this as the...
- Classical School
- The eighteenth-century intellectual tradition in criminology, associated with Beccaria and Bentham, that treats offenders as rational actors and argues for proportionate, certain,...
- Deterrence
- A forward-looking aim holding that the threat or experience of punishment discourages future offending. General deterrence targets potential offenders in the population;...
- Hedonistic calculus
- Bentham's term for the rational weighing of pleasure against pain. In his framework, legislators should calibrate punishments so the pain of the...
Explained in
- The Classical School and Deterrence TheoryThe magnitude or harshness of the penalty imposed. Classical theory holds that severity should be proportionate to harm. Modern research finds that increasing...