Remorse and a previously punished offense in assignment of punishment and estimated likelihood of a repeated offense

A total of 149 college students read two vignettes, one about an individual who had been arrested for assault and one about a psychologist who had vio lated confidentiality. In a 2 x 2 design, variables examined were whether t he person had previously been punished For a similar offense and whether th e person expressed remorse for the recent act. Participants made two judgme nts about each story, (1) estimates of the likelihood that the protagonists would do the same thing again and (2) assignment of an appropriate punishm ent. For the criminal act but nor for the improper act of the psychologist the expression of remorse significantly affected estimates of likelihood of a repeated offense and the length of assigned sentence. Detection and puni shment of a previous offense affected judgments of the probability of a fut ure offense but not assigned sentence for both the criminal offense and the violation of professional standards.