Norm status, rather than norm type or blameworthiness, results in the side-effect effect.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether the "side-effect effect" existed for both moral and conventional norms in a group of Chinese college students, and whether the norm type (moral or conventional) or the norm status (violating or conforming) resulted in this effect. The experiment used a 2 × 2 between-subjects design with Norm Type and Norm Status as between-group factors and with the Blame/Praise Ratings and Intentionality Judgments as dependent variables. Results indicated that the side-effect effect existed not only in situations involving moral norms, but also in those involving conventional norms. Norm Status was correlated with Intentionality Judgment in both situations involving moral and conventional norms, whereas Blame/Praise Rating was only correlated with the judgments in the moral situation. It turned out that the blame-praise asymmetry could not explain the phenomenon of the "Knobe effect." Regression analysis showed that norm status, rather than norm type, had a unique predictive effect on people's intentionality judgments. These results support the normative-reasons explanation, which proposes that foreseeing a harmful effect but not caring about it is the explanatory factor of the Knobe effect.