The Influence of Harm Characteristics on Endorsement of Actions That Cause Harm

This study investigated the influence ofcharacteristics embedded in ethical dilemmas on theendorsement of actions that caused both benefits andharms. The results revealed that the identity of thetarget to be harmed and the number to be harmedinfluenced endorsement of the proposed action in theethical scenarios. Specifically, study subjects wereless likely to endorse actions that cause harm tohumans than actions that cause harm to non-humans(non-human animals and plants). Subjects indicatedthat they were less likely to endorse actions thatcause harm to many than actions that cause harm tofew.