🚊Omission Bias
Why don’t we pull the trolley lever?
Give me a definition of "Omission Bias"
Omission bias is a cognitive bias that describes the tendency of people to judge harmful actions (commissions) as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful inactions (omissions), even if the outcomes are the same or similar. This bias can affect decision-making processes in various contexts, including moral and ethical judgments, health decisions, and legal interpretations. Essentially, individuals might perceive the act of not doing something as more acceptable or less blameworthy than actively doing something that leads to a similar negative outcome. This can lead to situations where passive decisions are favored over active ones, even if the active decision would result in a better outcome or prevent harm.
Now give me 10 example scenarios of “Omission Bias”
Trolley Problem: In a variation of the classic trolley problem, a person decides not to pull a lever that would divert a trolley onto a track where it would kill one person instead of five. They perceive the act of pulling the lever (taking action) and causing one death as worse than not pulling the lever and allowing five deaths to occur through inaction
Vaccination Decisions: A parent might choose not to vaccinate their child due to the fear of potential side effects, perceiving this inaction as less risky than the action of vaccinating, despite the higher statistical risk of harm from preventable diseases.
Investment Choices: An investor avoids selling a losing stock, seeing the action of selling as a confirmation of making a bad choice, whereas holding the stock (inaction) doesn't actively acknowledge the mistake, even if it leads to further losses.
Emergency Situations: Witnessing a person in distress (e.g., drowning), an individual may choose not to intervene for fear of doing harm, thinking inaction is less blameworthy than intervening poorly, even when inaction could lead to a worse outcome.
Environmental Policy: A government official may decide against implementing stricter environmental regulations, rationalizing that not changing the status quo is less harmful than potentially impacting economic growth, despite the long-term environmental degradation that inaction could cause.
Medical Treatment: A doctor might decide not to recommend a new, potentially life-saving treatment to a patient due to the risks associated with it, preferring the inaction of sticking with standard treatment, even if it's less effective.
Legal Decisions: A jury may find a defendant less culpable for a crime of omission (failing to act, such as not reporting a crime) compared to a crime of commission (actively committing the crime), even if the outcomes are similarly harmful.
Relationships: A person may avoid confronting a friend about their harmful behavior, thinking that avoiding the conflict (omission) is better than potentially hurting the friendship through confrontation, even if addressing it could improve the situation.
Workplace Safety: A manager might postpone upgrading safety equipment to save on costs, rationalizing that not spending (inaction) is different from actively putting workers at risk, even though the result could be the same if an accident occurs.
Climate Change Action: Individuals may choose not to reduce their carbon footprint, rationalizing that their personal inaction is less impactful than corporate or governmental actions, despite the cumulative effect of individual actions contributing to global warming.
Consider the scenario "Trolley Problem" and give me a small user story from it.
As an individual standing at a railway switch, Bob finds himself in a moral dilemma. Ahead, a runaway trolley is barreling down the tracks, and he sees that if it continues on its current path, it will collide with five workers who are unaware of the impending danger. To his right, there is a lever that can divert the trolley onto another track where only one worker is present.
Bob is acutely aware that by pulling the lever, he would be actively deciding to cause harm to one person to save five others. The thought of taking an action that directly results in a person's death feels profoundly wrong, even though logically, it seems the lesser of two evils. If he does nothing, the trolley will hit the five workers, and his inaction would lead to their deaths. This scenario forces him to grapple with the omission bias, as he struggles with the notion that allowing harm to occur feels less culpable than causing harm through deliberate action.
In the end, Bob’s hesitation and the weight of moral responsibility paralyze him. The trolley continues on its course, and the five workers tragically lose their lives. The guilt of his inaction and the understanding of omission bias leave a lasting impact, making him reflect deeply on the complexities of moral decision-making.
As an individual standing at a railway switch, Bob finds himself in a moral dilemma. Ahead, a runaway trolley is barreling down the tracks, and he sees that if it continues on its current path, it will collide with five workers who are unaware of the impending danger. To his right, there is a lever that can divert the trolley onto another track where only one worker is present.
Bob is acutely aware that by pulling the lever, he would be actively deciding to cause harm to one person to save five others. The thought of taking an action that directly results in a person's death feels profoundly wrong, even though logically, it seems the lesser of two evils. If he does nothing, the trolley will hit the five workers, and his inaction would lead to their deaths. This scenario forces him to grapple with the omission bias, as he struggles with the notion that allowing harm to occur feels less culpable than causing harm through deliberate action.
In the end, Bob’s hesitation and the weight of moral responsibility paralyze him. The trolley continues on its course, and the five workers tragically lose their lives. The guilt of his inaction and the understanding of omission bias leave a lasting impact, making him reflect deeply on the complexities of moral decision-making.
Now, if you should make an ontology of the "Omission Bias", what classes and properties would you create?
Classes (Entities)
CognitiveBias
Description: A general class representing all types of cognitive biases.
Subclasses: OmissionBias, CommissionBias, etc.
DecisionMakingContext
Description: Contexts or scenarios in which decisions are made, potentially influenced by cognitive biases.
Subclasses: MedicalDecisions, InvestmentDecisions, LegalDecisions, EnvironmentalDecisions, etc.
Outcome
Description: The result or consequence of a decision or action.
Subclasses: NegativeOutcome, PositiveOutcome, NeutralOutcome
Action
Description: An act performed by an individual or group in a decision-making context.
Subclasses: Commission (ActiveDecision), Omission (PassiveDecision)
Individual
Description: A person or entity making decisions or influenced by biases.
Subclasses: Parent, Investor, PolicyMaker, Doctor, Juror, etc.
Risk
Description: Potential for loss or harm associated with a decision or action.
Subclasses: HealthRisk, FinancialRisk, LegalRisk, EnvironmentalRisk
Information
Description: Data, facts, or knowledge available or sought in the context of decision-making.
Subclasses: ScientificEvidence, AnecdotalEvidence, StatisticalData
Properties (Attributes and Relationships)
hasBias
Domain: Individual
Range: CognitiveBias
Description: Links an individual with a cognitive bias they are influenced by.
makesDecisionInContext
Domain: Individual
Range: DecisionMakingContext
Description: Associates an individual with the specific context in which they make a decision.
hasOutcome
Domain: Action
Range: Outcome
Description: Relates an action (either commission or omission) to its outcome.
evaluatesRisk
Domain: Individual
Range: Risk
Description: Indicates that an individual considers or assesses a certain risk in the decision-making process.
seeksInformation
Domain: Individual
Range: Information
Description: Shows that an individual looks for information relevant to their decision-making.
influencesOutcome
Domain: DecisionMakingContext
Range: Outcome
Description: Indicates that a specific context influences the outcome of a decision.
hasActionType
Domain: Action
Range: {Commission, Omission}
Description: Specifies whether an action is an act of commission or omission.
Competency Questions
What personal observations were produced by reflecting upon deciding being carried out?
Sparql Query:
What is the nature of the action taken by Bob?
Sparql Query:
What action does Bob perform in the trolley lever conflict?
Sparql Query:
Classes and Properties Created
Our classes:
CognitiveBias: Represents the overarching concept of cognitive biases.
BiasedAgent: Represents an entity that experiences the bias.
OmissionBias: Omission bias is a cognitive bias that describes the tendency of people to judge commissions as less moral than equally harmful inactions omissions.
Omission: Omission is defined as inaction in psychology.
Comission: Comission is defined as action with physical movement in psychology
Our properties:
isAffectedBy: Describes the relationship between a cognitive bias and an individual on the base of influence.
affects: Inverse of isAffectedBy.
isAffectedBy: Describes the relationship between a cognitive bias and an individual on the base of influence.
affects: Inverse of isAffectedBy.
Chosen Framester Frames
o People
This frame contains general words for Individuals, i.e. humans. The Person is conceived of as independent of other specific individuals with whom they have relationships and independent of their participation in any particular activity. They may have an Age, Descriptor, Origin, Persistent_characteristic, or Ethnicity. A man from Phoenix was shot yesterday. She gave birth to a screaming baby yesterday. I study 16-year-old female adolescents. I am dating an African-American man. She comforted the terrified child. I always thought of him as a stupid man.
o Deciding
This frame was used to model the activity of making decisions.
Chosen Content ODPs
o Reaction
To model dynamic situations, tracking agents and actions they produce, events that are results of some action(s), and consequences as new actions, i.e. reactions.
To represent the epistemological "missing link" between a cognitive activity, e.g. the interaction with a cultural object, and any evidence of the effects this activity has on the individuals that are engaged with it; what can collectively be considered as an experience.
Other ontologies used
The subject is a subclass of a class.
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