Abstract
We investigate whether individuals are more prone to act selfishly if they can passively allow for an outcome to be implemented (omission) rather than having to make an active choice (commission). In most settings, active and passive choice alternatives differ in terms of factors such as the presence of a suggested option, costs of taking an action, and awareness. We isolate the omission effect from confounding factors in three experiments, and find no evidence that the distinction between active and passive choices has an independent effect on the propensity to implement selfish outcomes. This suggests that increased selfishness through omission, as observed in various economic choice situations, is driven by other factors than a preference for selfish omissions.
Highlights
Are people more selfish if they can passively allow for a selfish allocation of resources, rather than actively having to implement it? This question speaks to a variety of different choice situations, as decisions about resource allocations often vary by whether they require active involvement or not
A body of research in moral philosophy and psychology suggests that individuals favor harmful omissions over harmful acts
Our result suggests that social preferences are not sensitive to an omission effect
Summary
Are people more selfish if they can passively allow for a selfish allocation of resources, rather than actively having to implement it? This question speaks to a variety of different choice situations, as decisions about resource allocations often vary by whether they require active involvement or not. The difference between the commission treatment and the omission treatment is whether implementing the pre-ticked default allocation requires an active or a passive choice. In terms of the first allocation trade-off, we expect that subjects facing the selfish default (90,10) are more likely to choose (90,10) over (70,70), if the default is implemented passively (omission treatment) rather than actively (commission treatment).
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