Protected values and omission bias

Protected values (PVs) are those that people think should not be traded off . Baron and Spranca (1997) proposed that such values result from rules conc erning actions (as opposed to values for outcomes). This proposal implies t hat PVs should show a particularly large bias against harmful acts that und ermine the value in question, as opposed to harmful omissions (omission bia s). We found this correlation between PVs and omission bias in 3 experiment s, using stimuli of the sort that we used before to demonstrate omission bi as. In 2 experiments, we also found a weak tendency for PVs to be associate d with lack of concern for the number of acts involved, which is analogous to earlier results showing an association with lack of concern for the quan tity of outcomes. Finally, 1 experiment showed that some people are willing to sacrifice values to prevent losses more than they are willing to sacrif ice these values for gains. (C) 1999 Academic Press.