Moralistic crimes are less sensitive to punishment

Across 8 correlational, experimental, and economic game studies with participants drawn from the general population as well as participants with criminal backgrounds, we find that morally motivated actors show diminished sensitivity to material punishment. Studies 1 and 2 draw on federal data of over 30,000 offenders and find that participants’ estimates of moral motives for crime predict higher recidivism while estimates of material motives predict the opposite. Studies 3 and 4 use economic games and find that when players take money from others for moral reasons, they are less deterred by the imposition of fines. Studies 5-8 use judgment studies of a variety of crimes and find that these effects hold when motives are manipulated but actions are kept constant, they persist at higher levels of consequences, and they are unique to moral motivation. These findings suggest that models of punishment need to account for moral motives underlying transgressions and criminalized behavior.