17 January 2012
If a consequence of an action is foreseen but not intended, then that consequence is a side effect. The “Knobe effect” is the phenomenon where people tend to judge that a bad side effect is brought about intentionally, whereas a good side effect is judged not to be brought about intentionally. The best known cases used to demonstrate the Knobe effect are Knobe's two chairman cases:
== Harm ==
The vice-president of a company went to the chairman of the board and said, “We are thinking of starting a new program. It will help us increase profits, but it will also harm the environment.” The chairman of the board answered, “I don't care at all about harming the environment. I just want to make as much profit as I can. Let's start the new program.” They started the new program. Sure enough, the environment was harmed.
== Help ==
The vice-president of the company went to the chairman of the board and said, “We are thinking of starting a new program. It will help us increase profits, and it will also help the environment.” The chairman of the board answered, “I don't care at all about helping the environment. I just want to make as much profit as I can. Let's start the new program.” They started the new program. Sure enough, the environment was helped.
About 82% of the participants given "harm" say that the chairman brought about the bad side effect (harming the environment) intentionally, while 77% of those given "help" said the chairman did not bring about the good side effect (helping the environment) intentionally.
Knobe Effect • Opuss № I