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Talking to others: The importance of responsibility attributions by observers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2018

Stefanie Hechler  and
Thomas Kessler
Stefanie Hechler
Affiliation:
Department of Social Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, 07743 Jena, Germany. [email protected]@uni-jena.dehttp://www.sozialpsychologie.uni-jena.de
Thomas Kessler
Affiliation:
Department of Social Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University, 07743 Jena, Germany. [email protected]@uni-jena.dehttp://www.sozialpsychologie.uni-jena.de
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Abstract

This commentary extends Doris's approach of agency by highlighting the importance of responsibility attributions by observers. We argue that (a) social groups determine which standards are relevant and which actors are responsible, (b) consensus about these attributions may correct individual defeaters, and (c) the attribution of moral responsibility reveals agency of observers and may foster the actors' agency.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e46
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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