Beyond sacrificial harm: A two-dimensional model of utilitarian psychology.

Kahane, Guy; Everett, Jim A. C.; Earp, Brian D.; Caviola, Lucius; Faber, Nadira S.; Crockett, Molly J.; Savulescu, Julian

doi:10.1037/rev0000093

Cited by 314 publications

(485 citation statements)

References 126 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

466

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Consider for example the notorious trolley problem in which a person need to decide whether or not to actively kill one person in order to save five others (Foot, 1967). A person who decides to kill one person in order to save five other will be judged very differently if they are motivated to save as many people as possible than if they just wanted to push someone to their death (Kahane et al, 2018). Similarly we propose that the motivation attributed to a wrongdoer will affect moral outrage.…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 91%

Algorithmic Discrimination Causes Less Moral Outrage than Human Discrimination

Bigman¹,

Waytz²,

Arnestad³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of algorithms hold promise for overcoming human biases in decision making.Companies and governments are using algorithms to improve decision-making for hiring, medical treatments, and parole. Unfortunately, as with humans, some of these algorithms make persistently biased decisions, functionally discriminating people based on their race and gender.Media coverage suggests that people are morally outraged by algorithmic discrimination, but here we examine whether people are less outraged by algorithmic discrimination than by human discrimination. Six studies test this algorithmic outrage asymmetry hypothesis across diverse discrimination in hiring practices (sexism, ageism, racism) and across diverse participant groups (online samples, a quasi-representative sample, and a sample of tech workers). As predicted, people are less morally outraged by algorithmic discrimination. The studies further reveal that this algorithmic outrage asymmetry is driven by the reduced attribution of prejudicial motivation to machines. We also reveal a downstream consequence of algorithmic outrage asymmetrypeople are more likely to endorse racial stereotypes after algorithmic discrimination versus human discrimination. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results, including the potential weakening of collective action to address systemic discrimination.

show abstract

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 91%

Algorithmic Discrimination Causes Less Moral Outrage than Human Discrimination

Bigman¹,

Waytz²,

Arnestad³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Lee, Ashton, Choi, and Zachariassen () found a correlation of .44 between IWAH and a measure of connectedness with nature (“I often feel a sense of oneness with the natural world around me”). Kahane et al () found that that IWAH correlated .33 with the Impartial Benevolence factor (“It is just as wrong to fail to help someone as it is to actively harm them yourself”) of their new Oxford Utilitarianism Scale.…”

Section: Theoretical Foundations Of Global Human Identification and Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global Human Identification and Citizenship: A Review of Psychological Studies

McFarland

Hackett

Hamer

et al. 2019

Political Psychology

143

188

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We review psychological research on global human identification and citizenship, Thomas Paine's belief that "The world is my country, and all mankind are my brethren." In turn, we review the theoretical foundations that guided our work, research with measures that preceded our own, and our own work with our correlated scales. We review its foundations, its effects upon attitudes and behaviors, and how it might be enlarged. Global human identification and citizenship is related negatively to ethnocentrism, authoritarianism, the social dominance orientation, and self-centeredness, but positively to dispositional empathy, openness to experience, and the values of universalism, care, and justice. It is expressed in attitudes and behaviors that support human rights and work to reduce global suffering and inequalities. It is associated with greater global knowledge and with efforts to acquire that knowledge. Childrearing that emphasizes cross-cultural exposure and awareness of others' suffering may promote global human identification and citizenship, as does education that encourages global mindedness. Environments that support global human identification also induce it, as does envisioning it as a moral ideal.

show abstract

“…200-201). An aspect well integrated into the concept of utilitarianism is instrumental harm, which favours the acceptance of instrumental use of people for the maximization of greater good (see also Kahane et al (2018).…”

Section: Motives Behind Punishing Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Justice reactions to deviant ingroup members: Ingroup identity threat motivates utilitarian punishments

Fousiani

Yzerbyt

Kteily

et al. 2019

British J Social Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To maintain a positive overall view of their group, people judge likeable ingroup members more favourably and deviant ingroup members more harshly than comparable outgroup members. Research suggests that such derogation of deviant ingroup members aims to restore the image of the group by symbolically excluding so‐called ‘black sheeps’. We hypothesized that information about a harm‐doer's group membership influences observers’ justice‐seeking reactions. Motives for punishment vary based on whether the goal is to punish past harm‐doing (i.e., retributive motives), help harm‐doers recognize the harm inflicted and reintegrate into society (i.e., restorative motives), or control harm‐doer's future behaviour through incapacitating practices and exclusion from society (i.e., utilitarian motives). We hypothesized that immoral behaviours by ingroup rather than outgroup members jeopardize the group's reputation and therefore activate utilitarian (i.e., exclusion‐oriented) motives for punishment. Study 1 (N = 187) confirmed that people displayed more utilitarian motives and less restorative motives when sanctioning an ingroup as opposed to an outgroup harm‐doer. Study 2 (N = 122) manipulated typicality to the ingroup. Participants displayed stronger utilitarian (i.e., exclusion‐oriented) punishment motives when the harm‐doer was presented as a typical ingroup rather than an outgroup member. Study 3 (N = 292) replicated the findings of Studies 1 and 2 and further showed that people displayed stronger utilitarian punishments against an ingroup offender through the experience of increased identity threat. Contrary to our expectations, observers’ ingroup identification did not moderate the effect of group membership or typicality to the ingroup on justice reactions. Yet, ingroup identification influenced both experienced identity threat (i.e., mediator) and utilitarian motives for punishment with high identifiers experiencing higher threat and displaying stronger utilitarian punishment motive. We discuss the results in terms of people's concern for the protection of their group identity.

show abstract

Beyond sacrificial harm: A two-dimensional model of utilitarian psychology.

Cited by 314 publications

References 126 publications

Algorithmic Discrimination Causes Less Moral Outrage than Human Discrimination

Algorithmic Discrimination Causes Less Moral Outrage than Human Discrimination

Global Human Identification and Citizenship: A Review of Psychological Studies

Justice reactions to deviant ingroup members: Ingroup identity threat motivates utilitarian punishments

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About