Contemplating hypothetical unfairness triggers weaker emotions than experiencing real violations.
Evidence
A potential disadvantage of this method, however, is that it may reduce the impact of emotions: C may, for example, experience stronger emotions when reacting to an actual violation of a fairness norm than when contemplating what he would do in case of such a violation. It is, however, an open question whether the strategy method actually leads to different response probabilities than when subjects respond only to others’ actual choices. — Ernst Fehr, Third-Party Punishment and Social Norms, 24
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in third-party punishment as a live moral reaction vs. abstract judgment — the tradeoff mirrors the difference between Hester’s observed transgression and Dimmesdale’s hidden one.