Morally excused but socially excluded : Denying agency through the defense of mental impairment
Journal article
de Vel-Palumbo, Melissa, Schein, Chelsea, Ferguson, Rose, Chang, Melissa Xue-Ling and Bastian, Brock. (2021). Morally excused but socially excluded : Denying agency through the defense of mental impairment. PLoS ONE. 16, p. Article e0252586. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252586
Authors | de Vel-Palumbo, Melissa, Schein, Chelsea, Ferguson, Rose, Chang, Melissa Xue-Ling and Bastian, Brock |
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Abstract | Defendants can deny they have agency, and thus responsibility, for a crime by using a defense of mental impairment. We argue that although this strategy may help defendants evade blame, it may carry longer-term social costs, as lay people’s perceptions of a person’s agency might determine some of the moral rights they grant them. In this registered report protocol, we seek to expand upon preliminary findings from two pilot studies to examine how and why those using the defense of mental impairment are seen as less deserving of certain rights. The proposed study uses a hypothetical vignette design, varying the type of mental impairment, type of crime, and type of sentence. Our design for the registered study improves on various aspects of our pilot studies and aims to rigorously test the reliability and credibility of our model. The findings have implications for defendants claiming reduced agency through legal defenses, as well as for the broader study of moral rights and mind perception. |
Year | 2021 |
Journal | PLoS ONE |
Journal citation | 16, p. Article e0252586 |
Publisher | Public Library of Science |
ISSN | 1932-6203 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252586 |
PubMed ID | 34111148 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85107684346 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC8192116 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Page range | 1-22 |
Funder | Society of Australasian Social Psychologists |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 10 Jun 2021 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 18 May 2021 |
Deposited | 10 Aug 2023 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8z7x6/morally-excused-but-socially-excluded-denying-agency-through-the-defense-of-mental-impairment
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Publisher's version
OA_de_Vel-Palumbo_2021_Morally_excused_but_socially_excluded_Denying.pdf | |
License: CC BY 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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