Limited mental capacities and perceived control in attribution of responsibility

Two studies were conducted to examine the impact of a child's psychological disturbance on adults' judgements of causation, blame and punishment for action outcomes portrayed across Heider's levels. The effect of these levels on perceived control and the utility of perceived control in predicting judgements were also investigated. It was found that: (a) the psychological status of the child affected responses for a subset of Heider's levels but did not alter the pattern of responses across levels; and (b) responses were not affected by the existence of a psychological disorder per se but instead appeared to reflect inferences regarding the capacities influenced by the disorder. In addition, perceived control (c) increased across Heider's levels and (d) was more useful than previously investigated subjective probabilities in accounting for variance in perceived cause, blame and punishment. The probability of the act in the situation portrayed also accounted for a unique portion of the variance in the judgements made. The robustness of Heider's levels and a quantitative approach to his criteria are discussed. Finally, suggestions regarding the assessment of capacities necessary for being held accountable for one's actions are outlined.