Psychological value theory: The psychological value of human lives and economic goods.

Cohen, Dale J.; Cromley, Amanda R.; Freda, Katelyn E.; White, Maddie

doi:10.1037/xlm0001047

Cited by 5 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 91 publications

(202 reference statements)

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“…In that research, BLA-damaged subjects invested generously (100% more than HC subjects) in unfamiliar others in a trust game without expecting a fair return. Taken together, our socioeconomic and moral judgement data agree with psychological and neuroimaging research showing overlapping neural mechanisms for value-based economic and moral choice ( 19 , 59 ). This cross-domain breakdown in outcome-based choice behaviors in our BLA-damaged subjects suggests a failure to implement a model-based algorithm: in value-based social decision-making, they effectively act model free.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Breakdown of utilitarian moral judgement after basolateral amygdala damage

Honk

Terburg

Montoya

et al. 2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Most of us would regard killing another person as morally wrong, but when the death of one saves multiple others, it can be morally permitted. According to a prominent computational dual-systems framework, in these life-and-death dilemmas, deontological (nonsacrificial) moral judgments stem from a model-free algorithm that emphasizes the intrinsic value of the sacrificial action, while utilitarian (sacrificial) moral judgments are derived from a model-based algorithm that emphasizes the outcome of the sacrificial action. Rodent decision-making research suggests that the model-based algorithm depends on the basolateral amygdala (BLA), but these findings have not yet been translated to human moral decision-making. Here, in five humans with selective, bilateral BLA damage, we show a breakdown of utilitarian sacrificial moral judgments, pointing at deficient model-based moral decision-making. Across an established set of moral dilemmas, healthy controls frequently sacrifice one person to save numerous others, but BLA-damaged humans withhold such sacrificial judgments even at the cost of thousands of lives. Our translational research confirms a neurocomputational hypothesis drawn from rodent decision-making research by indicating that the model-based algorithm which underlies outcome-based, utilitarian moral judgements in humans critically depends on the BLA.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Breakdown of utilitarian moral judgement after basolateral amygdala damage

Honk

Terburg

Montoya

et al. 2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…A main advantage of GSUM over the previous model Cohen et al, 2021) is that it is applicable to scenarios beyond simple trolley-style dilemmas. In this experiment, we therefore added such cases to our design for a further evaluation of our model.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cohen and Ahn (2016) recently proposed a novel theory of moral judgment that puts the consequences of actions front and center, and they also suggest a psychological mechanism for outcome comparisons (see also Cohen, Cromley, Freda, & White, 2021).…”

Section: Cohen and Ahn's (2016) Subjective-utilitarian Theory Of Mora...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to their Subjective-Utilitarian Theory of Moral Judgment (later generalised to Psychological Value Theory, see Cohen et al, 2021), outcomes are ultimately the only determinant of an action's moral evaluation. Precisely, it is an observer's subjective utility of the consequences that would arise with versus without acting that determines an action's moral status.…”

Section: Cohen and Ahn's (2016) Subjective-utilitarian Theory Of Mora...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, and Cohen et al (2021) aimed to assess subjective utilities independently of choices, in order to be able to test, and potentially also falsify, whether utilities predict choices (see Cohen et al, 2021, for further discussion). Our method was inspired by , but we also made some modifications.…”

Section: The Valuation Of Different States and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of causal representations in moral judgment

Engelmann¹

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Morality and causation are deeply intertwined. For instance, the value of anticipated consequences is a crucial input for an action's moral permissibility, and assigning blame or responsibility for outcomes generally requires that a causal link connect the outcome with a potentially blameworthy agent's action. Psychological theories of moral judgment acknowledge this, but an explicit connection to theories of causal reasoning, and to theories of reasoning about outcomes, is missing. In this thesis, I present the results of two research projects that investigated, respectively, how (a) features of the causal relations connecting actions and outcomes, and (b) observers' subjective value of consequences affect moral judgments. In the first project, we found that chain structures connecting actions and harmful outcomes, compared to direct causal relations, can lead to a lower perceived strength of the relation, and thereby to attributions of diminished outcome foreseeability to agents. This explains why moral judgments about actions and agents can be more lenient in chains compared to direct relations. In the second project, we proposed and evaluated a computational model of reasoning about outcome trade-offs in moral scenarios. The model predicts permissibility judgments about actions from observers' subjective utilities of the action's consequences, and it accounted well for participants' judgments in two experiments. I argue that an improved understanding of how features of causal relations and the value of outcomes affect moral judgments would advance any contemporary theory of moral reasoning. The findings presented in this thesis aim to contribute to such an improved understanding. I conclude by discussing how features of causal relations and utilities might be formally integrated in causal representations, and lay out directions for future research. Zusammenfassung Moral und Kausalität sind eng verwoben. So ist z.B. der Wert der erwarteten Folgen ein entscheidender Faktor für die moralische Zulässigkeit von Handlungen, und die Zuweisung von Schuld oder Verantwortung für Ereignisse setzt im Allgemeinen voraus, dass eine kausale Verbindung zwischen dem Ereignis und der Handlung einer Person besteht. Psychologische Theorien des moralischen Urteilens erkennen das zwar an, jedoch fehlen explizite Verbindungen zu Theorien des kausalen Denkens und zu Theorien der Bewertung von Folgen. In dieser Arbeit stelle ich die Ergebnisse von zwei Forschungsprojekten vor, in denen untersucht wurde, wie (a) Merkmale der kausalen Beziehungen zwischen Handlungen und Ereignissen und (b) die subjektive Bewertung von Konsequenzen moralische Urteile beeinflussen. Das erste Projekt zeigte, dass die Repräsentation von kausalen Kettenstrukturen zwischen Handlungen und Ereignissen im Vergleich zu direkten Kausalbeziehungen zu einer als geringer wahrgenommenen Stärke der Beziehung und damit zu Zuschreibungen einer geringeren Vorhersehbarkeit der Folgen an die Handelnden führen kann. Das erklärt, warum moralische Urteile bei Ketten nachsicht...

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How and when does a used (vs. unused) account affect consumption behavior?

Yin,

Sharif

2024

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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How does spending from a used (vs. unused) account affect consumption behavior? An account is used when some resources of that account have been used (e.g., $90 has been used on a gift card that originally had $100). An account is unused when no resources of that account have been used (e.g., no money has been used on a gift card that has $10). Across seven studies (N = 8,667), we find that people are more likely to spend resources from a used account than otherwise equivalent resources from an unused account. This is because people engage in within-account comparisons, comparing the remaining resources in the account with what the account originally had, leading them to value the remaining resources less in a used account. We demonstrate the robustness of the effect of a used (vs. unused) account across several domains, including gift cards, checking accounts, and credit card reward points. Further, we demonstrate a boundary condition of the effect, revealing that the proportion of the account remaining moderates the subsequent consumption. Lastly, we generalize this effect from consumption to charitable giving. The findings provide insights into how policymakers, companies, and individuals may consider leveraging the perception of an account being used or unused to curb expenses and encourage charitable giving.

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Psychological value theory: The psychological value of human lives and economic goods.

Cited by 5 publications

References 91 publications

Breakdown of utilitarian moral judgement after basolateral amygdala damage

Breakdown of utilitarian moral judgement after basolateral amygdala damage

The role of causal representations in moral judgment

How and when does a used (vs. unused) account affect consumption behavior?

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