Betrayal Aversion is Reasonable
Behav.& Brain Science, Vol. 28, No. 556, 2005
2 Pages Posted: 9 Sep 2009
Date Written: 2005
Abstract
This article was written in response to Cass Sunstein’s, Moral Heuristics. We accept Sunstein’s claim that people often use moral heuristics to make judgments and decisions. Indeed, given people’s desire for social goals such as fairness, justice, and trustworthiness, it would be strange if moral intuitions did not impact the decisions people make. However, it is less clear that these moral intuitions - or moral heuristics - are as prone to systematic error as the classic heuristics in situations that include a risk of betrayal. We disagree with Sunstein about when the relevant moral heuristic may be said to “misfire”. We suggest that the moral heuristic people apply to avoid the possibility of safety-product betrayal may be reasonable.
Keywords: Moral heuristics, decision making, betrayal
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