| Publications [#244956] of Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
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- Cushman, F; Knobe, J; Sinnott-Armstrong, W (2008). Moral appraisals affect doing/allowing judgments.. Cognition, 108(1), 281-289. [18377886], [doi]
(last updated on 2024/03/28)
Abstract: An extensive body of research suggests that the distinction between doing and allowing plays a critical role in shaping moral appraisals. Here, we report evidence from a pair of experiments suggesting that the converse is also true: moral appraisals affect doing/allowing judgments. Specifically, morally bad behavior is more likely to be construed as actively 'doing' than as passively 'allowing'. This finding adds to a growing list of folk concepts influenced by moral appraisal, including causation and intentional action. We therefore suggest that the present finding favors the view that moral appraisal plays a pervasive role in shaping diverse cognitive representations across multiple domains.
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