The United States incarcerates more residents than any other country, however there is limited research that examines how people view such punishment, and whether views about punishment change with development. Previous research on this topic raises two very different possibilities: 1) children are typically more optimistic than adults, making them more likely to report that people’s moral character improves following punishment, and 2) children are more likely than adults to report that others’ characteristics—including moral traits—are unchangeable, making them less likely than adults to report that punishment affects moral growth. Researchers probed these contrasting possibilities further in two studies exploring children’s and adults’ views about the impact of punishment on perceived moral character.