"I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it."--Steven Wright
 
 
Celerity
Celerity also known as swiftness. Beccaria argues that in order to be an effective deterrent, punishments must possess celerity. A punishment that occurs quickly after the crime helps to form a strong connection between the punishment and the crime in the minds of the general public, so that whenever a citizen contemplates a criminal act, he will instantly recall the punishment and weigh it into his deliberation. See also certainty and severity.
 
Please register or login to add your comments to this article.
Copyright © 2012 Psychology Glossary. All Rights Reserved.
Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.
 

Advertisement