Psychological Value Theory: The Psychological Value of Human Lives and Economic Goods

Autor/inn/en	Cohen, Dale J.; Cromley, Amanda R.; Freda, Katelyn E.; White, Madeline
Titel	Psychological Value Theory: The Psychological Value of Human Lives and Economic Goods
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 48 (2022) 12, S.2015-2050 (36 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Cohen, Dale J.) ORCID (Cromley, Amanda R.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0278-7393
DOI	10.1037/xlm0001047
Schlagwörter	Hypothesis Testing; Decision Making; Moral Values; Problem Solving; Economic Factors; Behavior Theories; Psychological Patterns; Generalization; Prediction; Preferences; Validity; Individual Differences; Models; Reaction Time; Task Analysis; Item Analysis; Age Differences; Vignettes; Probability + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hypothesenprüfung; Hypothesentest; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Moral value; Ethischer Wert; Problemlösen; Ökonomischer Faktor; Vorhersage; Gültigkeit; Individueller Unterschied; Analogiemodell; Reaktionsvermögen; Aufgabenanalyse; Itemanalyse; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung; Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie
Abstract	Here, we present a strong test of the hypothesis that sacrificial moral dilemmas are solved using the same value-based decision mechanism that operates on decisions concerning economic goods. To test this hypothesis, we developed Psychological Value Theory. Psychological Value Theory is an expansion and generalization of Cohen and Ahn's (2016) Theory of Subjective Utilitarianism. Psychological Value Theory defines a new theoretical construct termed "Psychological Value," measures Psychological Value using a traditional psychophysics paradigm, and predicts preferential choice from those measurements using a value-based computational model. We evaluate the validity of Psychological Value Theory across six experiments. In Experiment 1, we use Psychological Value Theory to estimate the perceived Psychological Value of human lives and economic goods. The data reveal that perceived Psychological Value of lives is highly influenced by individual differences of people but minimally influenced by the number of people in a group. In Experiments 2-5, we demonstrate that when used as input in a value-based computational model, perceived Psychological Values of human lives accurately predict participants' RT and response choices to sacrificial moral dilemmas. In Experiment 6, we replicate these findings for decisions involving economic goods. We cross-validate our results with multiple data sets using multiple methods. We conclude that the same value-based processes underlying economic decisions also underlie choices involving human lives. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01