The Intention-Outcome Asymmetry Effect.
Knowledge of intention and outcome is integral to making judgments of responsibility, blame, and causality. Yet, little is known about the effect of conflicting intentions and outcomes on these judgments. In a series of four experiments, we combine good and bad intentions with positive and negative outcomes, presenting these through everyday moral scenarios. Our results demonstrate an asymmetry in responsibility, causality, and blame judgments for the two incongruent conditions: well-intentioned agents are regarded more morally and causally responsible for negative outcomes than ill-intentioned agents are held for positive outcomes. This novel effect of an intention-outcome asymmetry identifies an unexplored aspect of moral judgment and is partially explained by extra inferences that participants make about the actions of the moral agent.
['Sarin|Arunima|A|', 'Lagnado|David A|DA|', 'Burgess|Paul W|PW|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D005260:Female D006801:Humans D033182:Intention D007600:Judgment D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009014:Morals D012919:Social Behavior D055815:Young Adult
intention outcome responsibility causality moral judgments blame-praise