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Related Experiment Videos

Acting intentionally and the side-effect effect.

Alan M Leslie1, Joshua Knobe, Adam Cohen

  • 1Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. aleslie@ruccs.rutgers.edu

Psychological Science
|May 11, 2006
PubMed
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Preschoolers judge actions as intentional when foreseen side effects are bad, not good. This shows moral judgment influences intent perception in young children, challenging prior assumptions.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Development
  • Moral Psychology
  • Philosophy of Mind

Background:

  • Intentional action is a key area linking theory of mind and moral judgment.
  • Preschoolers' understanding of intentionality is crucial for social cognition.
  • Previous research often assumes intentionality judgments are purely factual.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if moral considerations influence preschoolers' judgments of intentional action.
  • To determine if preschoolers exhibit a valence-driven asymmetry in intentionality judgments.
  • To explore the role of theory of mind in preschoolers' understanding of foreseen side effects.

Main Methods:

  • Preschool children were presented with scenarios involving foreseen side effects of actions.
  • Participants judged whether the actions were performed 'on purpose' based on the moral valence of the side effects.

Related Experiment Videos

  • The study assessed children's understanding of the concept 'not care that P' (a theory of mind component).

    • Main Results:

    • Preschoolers judged foreseen side effects as 'on purpose' when they were morally bad, but not when they were morally good.
    • This valence-driven asymmetry demonstrates that moral judgment influences intentionality judgments in young children.
    • The 'side-effect effect' emerged once children processed the concept that a character 'does not care' about the side effect.

    Conclusions:

    • Preschoolers' judgments of intentionality are not purely factual but can be influenced by moral valence.
    • This finding challenges the traditional view of intentionality judgments and highlights the early integration of morality and cognition.
    • The development of theory of mind, specifically understanding 'not caring,' is critical for nuanced judgments of intentional action in young children.