This all represented a significant “step up”. It wasn’t just a matter of “Oh well, here we go again”, it was more a “Oh dear, I’m really in for it now”
The different implement was significant. In Scotland, it was always the belt regardless of the seriousness of the offence. Being sent to the Head. might be seen as a bit of a “step up”; the Head. might use a heavier, more painful, tawse – but it was still a tawse, the same type of thing you might get from the teacher for talking in class. That, in my opinion, would lessen its psychological impact and blur the line between minor and serious misbehaviour.