TL/DR: Creative punishments dissolve the severity-deterrence trade-off, teaching through experience while staying proportionate. Full paper here 👉 https://t.co/X9sojp2fdg #CreativePunishment #BehavioralScience #JPSP @timkundro @SalAffinito @unc_ob @NYUStern @Columbia_Biz 12/12🧵

Huge thx to @judgechick, whose viral Ohio sentencings sparked this project and stocked us with an archival data trove 🗃️. Ideated entirely in @SlackHQ, now sporting ~30 custom stickers, this was easily one of the most fun papers ever. BIG shout-out to🐐RA @IniyanS2! 11/12

⏯️And, an important caveat: creative punishments are only seen as more appropriate for low-level, non-violent crimes where educational impact is legal, ethical, & feasible 10/12

⏸️ So… here's what creative sentences *don’t* do: they don’t spike general deterrence worries, and they’re still seen as milder than equal-time jail. So we get accountability without the perception of over-punishment 9/12

(Studies 5a–b) Finally, we explored the transgressor's POV: given the choice, offenders themselves prefer creative over traditional punishments. Experiential justice feels fairer, even to those in the hot seat 8/12

(Study 4) Was this a fluke of our punishments' weirdness⁉️ No. When punishment and crime didn’t align (e.g., vandal walks shelter dogs), creative sentences lost their appeal. People want the punishment to fit the crime, rather than just be quirky 7/12

(Studies 3a–d) With this lead, we ran various controlled experiments (N ≈ 800). Creative sentences rated: ✔️ more appropriate ✔️ less harsh ✔️ more likely to deter via learning This aligned w/ our theorizing that learning ➜ perceived deterrence ➜ appropriateness 6/12

(Study 2) Our next approach had two-parts: 1️⃣ we crowdsourced 90 real workplace transgressions, 2️⃣ built matching sentences, and new raters chose the creative option 60% of the time. They also rated them higher in learning 5/12

(Study 1) We started by analyzing over 17k YouTube interactions on real world sentencing clips. Sentiment coding showed pro-creative punishment comments earn more likes; while anti-creative comments sunk. Real-world signal: audiences reward poetic justice 4/12

Enter creative punishments: they're case-specific, experiential, & mirror the harm done. Think working a fryer after assaulting a fast-food worker, or shoveling manure after tipping a portapotty.💡: to teach via learning, vs. the pains of confinement 3/12 https://t.co/XpHuOMJsQ7

We usually want two things from punishment: 1️⃣ Deterrence (stop crime from happening again). 2️⃣ Proportionality (don’t be excessively harsh). Traditional tools (jail, suspensions, fines) often force a trade-off: harsher = better deterrence, but worse fit, and vice-versa 2/12

🚨👩‍⚖️New paper out in #JPSP @APA_Journals! 13 studies (archival+lab) unpack why observers (and transgressors) prefer experiential, "creative" sentences (e.g., vandal cleans graffiti) over traditional ones (e.g. go to jail). Led by @timkundro, w/ @SalAffinito & yours truly! 1/12 🧵

#AOM2025 Symposium Alert! @SciSocialProbs and I are hosting a research panel bridging individual 👤 & and system level👥👥 fairness in organizations. Mon, July 28 at 12pm (CPH 🇩🇰) Join us if in town & curious about integrative solves to puzzles in fairness, justice, and policy.

Excited to join the @Columbia_Biz Management PhD program this Fall. I study all things messy: culture, morality, rules, organizations, humans. Mr. Chongus, honorary lion 🦁, will be auditing. Onward!!

If I ever had to put together a✨hit✨, thought-provoking and inspiring OB PhD seminar ... I'd SPRINT after Elad Sherf's (@unc_ob) "Creative Minds Behind Creativity Research" syllabus. An unforgettable meta-creative experience, thanks to all the scholars who joined us!

LOOK AT OUR FANTASTIC GROUP REPRESENTING AT SPSP! <3 Thank you @chhmichelle, for photographing these moments, and to @danirmincey, @herrisonchicas , and @chris_petsko for sharing your work.

See you tomorrow at @SPSPnews! Sharing findings bridging culture, morality & human history, ft. @SalAffinito, @gea2006, Will Maddux & @kurtjgray ✨

Deepest Beliefs Lab team looking good! @UNCPsych

Y’all, our Ph.D. students are some of the best people you can possibly imagine. And this week, several of them were honored with prestigious institutional awards!! Read on for all the @kenanflagler tea. 🫖

#NewProfilePic Does your PhD get realer when you get your photo taken?