Instrumental Harm Research Articles

The costs of being consequentialist: Social inference from instrumental harm and impartial beneficence

Previous work has demonstrated that people are more likely to trust “deontological” agents who reject harming one person to save many others than “consequentialist” agents who endorse such instrumental harms, which could explain the higher prevalence of non-consequentialist moral intuitions. Yet consequentialism involves endorsing not just instrumental harm, but also impartial beneficence, treating the well-being of every individual as equally important. In four studies (total N = 2086), we investigated preferences for consequentialist vs. non-consequentialist social partners endorsing instrumental harm or impartial beneficence and examined how such preferences varied across different types of social relationships. Our results demonstrate robust preferences for non-consequentialist over consequentialist agents in the domain of instrumental harm, and weaker – but still evident – preferences in the domain of impartial beneficence. In the domain of instrumental harm, non-consequentialist agents were consistently viewed as more moral and trustworthy, preferred for a range of social roles, and entrusted with more money in economic exchanges. In the domain of impartial beneficence, preferences for non-consequentialist agents were observed for close interpersonal relationships requiring direct interaction (friend, spouse) but not for more distant roles with little-to-no personal interaction (political leader). Collectively our findings demonstrate that preferences for non-consequentialist agents are sensitive to the different dimensions of consequentialist thinking and the relational context.

Beyond sacrificial harm: A two-dimensional model of utilitarian psychology.

Recent research has relied on trolley-type sacrificial moral dilemmas to study utilitarian versus nonutilitarian modes of moral decision-making. This research has generated important insights into people’s attitudes toward instrumental harm—that is, the sacrifice of an individual to save a greater number. But this approach also has serious limitations. Most notably, it ignores the positive, altruistic core of utilitarianism, which is characterized by impartial concern for the well-being of everyone, whether near or far. Here, we develop, refine, and validate a new scale—the Oxford Utilitarianism Scale—to dissociate individual differences in the ‘negative’ (permissive attitude toward instrumental harm) and ‘positive’ (impartial concern for the greater good) dimensions of utilitarian thinking as manifested in the general population. We show that these are two independent dimensions of proto-utilitarian tendencies in the lay population, each exhibiting a distinct psychological profile. Empathic concern, identification with the whole of humanity, and concern for future generations were positively associated with impartial beneficence but negatively associated with instrumental harm; and although instrumental harm was associated with subclinical psychopathy, impartial beneficence was associated with higher religiosity. Importantly, although these two dimensions were independent in the lay population, they were closely associated in a sample of moral philosophers. Acknowledging this dissociation between the instrumental harm and impartial beneficence components of utilitarian thinking in ordinary people can clarify existing debates about the nature of moral psychology and its relation to moral philosophy as well as generate fruitful avenues for further research.

“Beyond sacrificial harm: A two-dimensional model of utilitarian psychology”: Correction.

Reports an error in "Beyond Sacrificial Harm: A Two-Dimensional Model of Utilitarian Psychology" by Guy Kahane, Jim A. C. Everett, Brian D. Earp, Lucius Caviola, Nadira S. Faber, Molly J. Crockett and Julian Savulescu (Psychological Review, Advanced Online Publication, Dec 21, 2017, np). The copyright attribution was incorrectly listed, and the Creative Commons CC-BY license disclaimer was incorrectly omitted from the author note. The correct copyright is "© 2017 The Author(s)" and the omitted disclaimer is presented in the erratum. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-57422-001.) Recent research has relied on trolley-type sacrificial moral dilemmas to study utilitarian versus nonutilitarian modes of moral decision-making. This research has generated important insights into people's attitudes toward instrumental harm-that is, the sacrifice of an individual to save a greater number. But this approach also has serious limitations. Most notably, it ignores the positive, altruistic core of utilitarianism, which is characterized by impartial concern for the well-being of everyone, whether near or far. Here, we develop, refine, and validate a new scale-the Oxford Utilitarianism Scale-to dissociate individual differences in the 'negative' (permissive attitude toward instrumental harm) and 'positive' (impartial concern for the greater good) dimensions of utilitarian thinking as manifested in the general population. We show that these are two independent dimensions of proto-utilitarian tendencies in the lay population, each exhibiting a distinct psychological profile. Empathic concern, identification with the whole of humanity, and concern for future generations were positively associated with impartial beneficence but negatively associated with instrumental harm; and although instrumental harm was associated with subclinical psychopathy, impartial beneficence was associated with higher religiosity. Importantly, although these two dimensions were independent in the lay population, they were closely associated in a sample of moral philosophers. Acknowledging this dissociation between the instrumental harm and impartial beneficence components of utilitarian thinking in ordinary people can clarify existing debates about the nature of moral psychology and its relation to moral philosophy as well as generate fruitful avenues for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Determination of toxic trace impurities in titanium dioxide by solid sampling-electrothermal vaporization-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

This paper reports on the performance of solid sampling-electrothermal vaporization-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SS-ETV-ICPMS) for the direct multi-element determination of six toxic trace impurities (As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Sb and Zn) in three different TiO2 samples. Careful selection of the most suitable target nuclides for the different analytes and temperature program optimization permit the reliable monitoring of the analytes of interest, while avoiding the occurrence of potentially relevant spectral interferences. A pyrolysis-free program, in which simultaneous vaporization of all the analytes is carried out at a relatively low temperature (1700 °C), was used. In this way, sample matrix and analyte co-vaporization is avoided, considerably reducing matrix effects and allowing the determination of Zn, which would otherwise be hampered by a spectral overlap with TiO+ ions. Calibration against aqueous standards was found to be feasible. Addition of 50 ng Pd as carrier agent improved the linearity of the calibration curves. Two different internal standards (105Pd+ and 125Te+) were used to compensate for matrix effects. The method thus developed exhibits interesting features: low limits of detection (ng g−1 range) for all of the elements, at least an order of magnitude lower than those for digestion-based procedures; high sample throughput (maximum 35 min per determination), contrasting with the 2 h required for sample digestion and subsequent analysis; low sample consumption (a few milligrams only); precision values usually in the 9–13% RSD range; and last but not least, the absence of any sample pre-treatment, with the subsequent lower risk of analyte losses, contamination or personal and instrumental harms derived from the necessity of using hazardous reagents for sample digestion. SS-ETV-ICPMS therefore seems to be a promising alternative for industrial control analysis of TiO2 samples with analyte contents ranging from a few ng g−1 to several hundreds of µg g−1.

Privacy and confidentiality of genetic information: what rules for the new science?

This review covers the ethical, legal, and policy issues associated with the generation and dissemination of genetic information. First, conceptual issues, such as the definition of terms and the description of two modes of analysis, are addressed. Research findings on public attitudes toward privacy and genetics and other factors relevant to policy making are also reviewed. Second, the example of genetic research is used to highlight the importance of attention to the intrinsic harms associated with violations of genetic privacy. Subtopics include national databases and biobanks, gene brokers, and pharmacogenomics. Third, the example of insurer access to genetic information is used to highlight the importance of attention to discrimination and other instrumental harms associated with failures of regulation. Fourth, a summary of the preceding sections leads into an outline of a program for realizing the benefits of the new science in a manner that affirms rather than erodes privacy and other important values.