Fig. 2: Effects of gruesome language (GL) and intentionality on morality, punishment and damage ratings.

a We observed a group-by-language interaction, such that only participants of the control group had significantly higher morality ratings when reading gruesome descriptions of harm, relative to the PL condition. b We also found a group-by-intentionality interaction, revealing that punishment ratings were significantly lower for the judges and attorneys groups in comparison to controls during accidental scenarios. There were no differences between groups when participants read intentional scenarios. c We found a group-by-intentionality interaction, revealing that harm severity ratings were significantly lower for judges and attorneys than controls in accidental scenarios. Participants in all groups assessed harms as significantly greater in magnitude when they were committed intentionally, in comparison to situations when harm was accidentally caused. This reveals a biasing effect of intentionality on damage assessments, because the accidental and intentional conditions contained an equivalent range of harms. Significance coding: *p < 0.01; **p < 0.001; ***p < 0.0001.