The Side-Effect Effect
There are side effects to almost every action people take. Getting rid of insects in a home can cause harm to the environment, or even poison pets within the household. Studying for a test can cause lack of sleep, and ultimately poorer health. Throwing away the remains of an unfinished dinner plate discards what could have been valuable nutrients for starving children in Africa. How one determines intentionality of an action has been a controversial topic for many. Joshua Knobe has conducted experiments for explaining the proper analysis of intentional action, while Uttich and Lombrozo have conducted experiments exploring the relationship between norms and mental state ascriptions in terms of intentional actions. This paper will review the results of one of Knobe’s studies, explain the side-effect effect in the perspective of Uttich and Lombrozo, and offer an alternative explanation to the side-effect effect.
Knobe’s first experiment tested whether judgments of intentionality were influenced by whether the side-effect of an action was good or bad. His experiment consisted of subjects reading about a person, the chairman of a company, who was interested in starting a new program to increase profits. Some of the subjects were given a scenario in which that new program would harm the environment, while others read about how that program would help the environment. In either case, the chairman did not care about the side-effect; the purpose of this new program was to make more money. The subjects were then asked to determine how much blame or praise the person should receive for harming or helping the environment. The results of this experiment showed that the majority of subjects thought the person was intent...
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...effect. People should be held responsible for harmful side effects that are caused, especially since they are seen as intentional. In addition, when legal issues are involved, jurors should consider the fact that people will attempt to avoid harmful side effects. If harmful side effects do occur, jurors should assume that they were intentional unless there is strong evidence otherwise. That is, jurors should assume that those side effects were brought about on purpose, with the person performing the action being fully aware of the risks being taken.
References
Knobe, Joshua. "Intentional Action and Side Effects in Ordinary Language." Oxford Journals 63.3 (2003): 190-94. JStor. Oxford University Press.
Uttich, Kevin, and Tania Lombrozo. "Norms Inform Mental State Ascriptions: A Rational Explanation for the Side-effect Effect." Cognition 116 (2010): 87-100. Elsevier.
Furthermore, the authors aim to unfold the scientific logic of their analysis of the effects of hidden biases so people will be “better able to achieve the alignment,” between their behavior and intentions (Banaji and Greenwald, 2013) preface
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People influenced to accept a determinist viewpoint over a free will viewpoint cheated more often than both the control groups and pro-free will groups (Vohs 50, 52). The two studies tested both inactive and active cheating by permitting participants to see answers prior to them answering the questions if they did nothing or to reward themselves with money for their score on the test regardless of whether or not they deserved the amount they took (Vohs 50, 52). In both, those who read a deterministic passage versus a neutral or free will passage took advantage of others more when given the opportunity (Vohs 50, 52). Additional research demonstrated that people influenced by deterministic beliefs felt less or no guilt for their actions when reflecting on past personal events or learning of a death their actions indirectly caused, and noted that they would not change their actions (Stillman 954, 958). In other words, the determinism group exhibited less learning from their mistakes than the control group which claimed they would act differently in the future (Stillman 954, 958). Rigoni and Brass conducted a study looking at
There are some human phenomena, which seem to be the result of individual actions and personal decisions. Yet, these phenomena are often - on closer inspection – as much a result of social factors as of psychological ones.
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The researchers, Timothy Judge and Daniel Cable, say that much of the problem is the result of subconscious decisions based on entrenched social
As discussed earlier, our participants will be randomly assigned into a ‘health goal’ condition. The participants in this condition will be primed with a health goal. “Priming” and its effects have been thoroughly studied in social psychology. As Bargh , Chen and Burrows argue (1996:230) , ‘priming refers to the incidental activation of knowledge structures, such as trait concepts and stereotypes , by the current situational context.’ This activation of knowledge structures shapes the behaviour of people (Bargh et al. 1996 ; Bargh et al 2001). For example , the automatic activation of a trait concept can affect the behaviour of a person in such a way that his behavioural acts are more in line with this activated trait ; participants in whom the concept of rudeness had been activated , interrupted a conversation , between other people , more (Bargh et al. 1996). It is important to mention that these effects of priming are passive and automatic (Bargh et al.1996) . As Fitzsimons , Chartrand and Fitzsimons (2008:22)
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As drugs such as marijuana continue to legalize, the United States of America jeopardizes the safety of the citizens. Today, people have a construed belief that drugs allow a person to become more intellectual. Because of this distorted view of drugs, both teens and adults are relying on drugs to accomplish their duties such as their jobs. To guarantee the safety of the employees, the government enforces the “General Duty Clause” of the OSH Act of 1970. Under the OSH Act of 1970, companies are responsible in creating a better working environment. As much as employees disagree with drug testing, drug testing helps create a better working environment.
There are two kinds of people in the world; the ones that believe that the consequences of an action outweigh the importance of intention, and those that feel that intentions are all that matter. Consequences are measurable outcomes that are a direct result of our actions. Intentions are the thoughts behind a person’s actions. They are the reason that a person chooses to do something. Consequences and intentions both correlate with action. Intention comes before the action itself, and consequences are yielded once the action is complete. In general consequences are thought of as negative, while intentions are typically considered in a positive sense. However, this paper will explain why consequences are more important to consider than one’s
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