Causal Responsibility and Robust Causation

Frontiers in Psychology
Guy GrinfeldMarius Usher

Abstract

How do people judge the degree of causal responsibility that an agent has for the outcomes of her actions? We show that a relatively unexplored factor - the robustness (or stability) of the causal chain linking the agent's action and the outcome - influences judgments of causal responsibility of the agent. In three experiments, we vary robustness by manipulating the number of background circumstances under which the action causes the effect, and find that causal responsibility judgments increase with robustness. In the first experiment, the robustness manipulation also raises the probability of the effect given the action. Experiments 2 and 3 control for probability-raising, and show that robustness still affects judgments of causal responsibility. In particular, Experiment 3 introduces an Ellsberg type of scenario to manipulate robustness, while keeping the conditional probability and the skill deployed in the action fixed. Experiment 4, replicates the results of Experiment 3, while contrasting between judgments of causal strength and of causal responsibility. The results show that in all cases, the perceived degree of responsibility (but not of causal strength) increases with the robustness of the action-outcome causal chain.

References

Apr 1, 1992·Psychological Review·P W Cheng, L R Novick
Mar 3, 2007·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·John Mikhail
Apr 21, 2007·Psychological Science·Michael R Waldmann, Jörn H Dieterich
Aug 19, 2008·Cognition·David A Lagnado, Shelley Channon
Jan 15, 2010·Cognition·Tobias Gerstenberg, David A Lagnado
May 26, 2011·Cognitive Science·York HagmayerMichael R Waldmann
Jul 28, 2011·Cognitive Science·Fiery Cushman, Liane Young
Jun 26, 2012·Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences·Justin SytsmaDavid Rose
Sep 11, 2012·Cognition·Ro'i ZultanDavid A Lagnado
Jul 17, 2013·Cognitive Science·David A LagnadoRo'i Zultan
Jul 26, 2014·Annual Review of Psychology·Steven A Sloman, David Lagnado
Feb 24, 2015·Cognition·Jonathan F KominskyJoshua Knobe
Mar 17, 2015·Cognitive Psychology·Samuel G B Johnson, Lance J Rips
Dec 2, 2015·Memory & Cognition·Momme von SydowBjörn Meder
Feb 13, 2016·Cognitive Science·Dylan Murray, Tania Lombrozo
Sep 4, 2016·Cognition·Jana Samland, Michael R Waldmann
Feb 6, 2017·Cognition·Thomas F IcardJoshua Knobe
Apr 20, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Jonathan Phillips, Fiery Cushman
May 13, 2017·Experimental Psychology·Arunima SarinPaul W Burgess
Jun 15, 2017·Cognitive Processing·Dennis Hebbelmann, Momme von Sydow
Nov 21, 2017·Topics in Cognitive Science·Simon Stephan, Michael R Waldmann
Apr 21, 2018·Cognition·Tobias GerstenbergJoshua B Tenenbaum
Apr 25, 2018·Cognitive Science·Nadya VasilyevaTania Lombrozo

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jul 25, 2021·Cognition·Tobias Gerstenberg, Simon Stephan
Jul 25, 2021·Cognitive Psychology·Antonia F LangenhoffTobias Gerstenberg

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

Qualtrics
Panel

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.