Effects of Causal Structure on Decisions About Where to Intervene on Causal Systems

Citations Over Time

Abstract

We investigated how people design interventions to affect the outcomes of causal systems. We propose that the abstract structural properties of a causal system, in addition to people's content and mechanism knowledge, influence decisions about how to intervene. In Experiment 1, participants preferred to intervene at specific locations (immediate causes, root causes) in a causal chain regardless of which content variables occupied those positions. In Experiment 2, participants were more likely to intervene on root causes versus immediate causes when they were presented with a long-term goal versus a short-term goal. These results show that the structural properties of a causal system can guide the design of interventions.

Related Papers

• → Structure and strength in causal induction☆(2005)620 cited
• → The Psychology of Causal Perception and Reasoning(2010)65 cited
• → Are Causal Structure and Intervention Judgments Inextricably Linked? A Developmental Study(2011)45 cited
• → The Acquisition and Use of Causal Structure Knowledge(2017)17 cited
• → Effects of Causal Structure on Decisions About Where to Intervene on Causal Systems(2014)1 cited