Insensitivity to the value of human life: A study of psychophysical numbing
Insensitivity to the value of human life: A study of psychophysical numbing
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DOI：
10.1023/a:1007744326393
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发表时间：
1997-05-01
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Friedrich, J
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fetherstonhaugh, D;Slovic, P;Friedrich, J
心理物理学的一个基本原理是，人们辨别物理刺激变化的能力随着刺激强度的增加而减弱。我们发现，在越来越多的生命处于危险之中的背景下，人们在评估挽救生命的干预措施方面也表现出越来越低的敏感性。我们称之为“心理物理麻木”。“研究1和研究2发现，当总体上面临风险的生命较少时，拯救固定数量生命的干预措施被认为更有益。研究3发现，答复者希望，对于潜在受害者人数较多的疾病而言，一种医疗手段必须挽救的最低生命数量要远远大于潜在受害者人数较少的疾病。需要更好地了解心理物理麻木的动态和确定其对决策的影响进行了讨论。
A fundamental principle of psychophysics is that people's ability to discriminate change in a physical stimulus diminishes as the magnitude of the stimulus increases. We find that people also exhibit diminished sensitivity in valuing lifesaving interventions against a background of increasing numbers of lives at risk. We call this ''psychophysical numbing.'' Studies 1 and 2 found that an intervention saving a fixed number of lives was judged significantly more beneficial when fewer lives were at risk overall. Study 3 found that respondents wanted the minimum number of lives a medical treatment would have to save to merit a fixed amount of funding to be much greater for a disease with a larger number of potential victims than for a disease with a smaller number. The need to better understand the dynamics of psychophysical numbing and to determine its effects on decision making is discussed.