Some experimental and archival studies have found empirical support for the scope-severity paradox (SSP), according to which the perceived harm of the same crime or wrongdoing decreases when the number of victims is greater. In the context of environmental wrongdoing, we investigate whether the SSP applies when the number of perpetrators of a crime or wrongdoing increases. Using a survey experiment with two scenarios and five treatments (variations of the number of perpetrators and the individual and total harms committed), we test whether the perceived severity and punishment recommendation for perpetrators of an environmental wrongdoing decrease as the number of perpetrators increases, independent of the total environmental harm committed. Unlike the studies that look at the SSP phenomenon as regards number of victims, we do not find direct support for the existence of a SSP effect regarding number of perpetrators. We do find, however, that participants evaluating the one-perpetrator treatments are more likely to judge with the highest severity. We also provide some collateral insights such as the insensitiveness of participants to the individual pollution level, once the environmental damage exceeds a certain threshold. Our results extend previous SSP studies in important directions and suggest some policy implications, and avenues for further research.

中文翻译：

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对单一与多个不法行为者造成的环境危害的道德判断：一项调查实验

一些实验和档案研究发现了对范围严重性悖论 (SSP) 的实证支持，根据该悖论，当受害者人数增加时，同一犯罪或不法行为的感知危害会减少。在环境不法行为的背景下，我们调查了当犯罪或不法行为的肇事者人数增加时 SSP 是否适用。使用具有两种情景和五种处理方式（肇事者数量和所造成的个人和总伤害的变化）的调查实验，我们测试了环境不法行为的肇事者的感知严重程度和惩罚建议是否随着肇事者数量的增加而减少，独立所造成的总环境损害。与将 SSP 现象视为受害者人数的研究不同，我们没有找到直接支持 SSP 效应存在于肇事者人数方面的证据。然而，我们确实发现，评估单一肇事者治疗的参与者更有可能以最高的严重程度进行判断。我们还提供了一些附带的见解，例如一旦环境损害超过某个阈值，参与者对个人污染水平的不敏感。我们的结果在重要方向上扩展了以前的 SSP 研究，并提出了一些政策含义和进一步研究的途径。我们还提供了一些附带的见解，例如一旦环境损害超过某个阈值，参与者对个人污染水平的不敏感。我们的结果在重要方向上扩展了先前的 SSP 研究，并提出了一些政策含义和进一步研究的途径。我们还提供了一些附带的见解，例如一旦环境损害超过某个阈值，参与者对个人污染水平的不敏感。我们的结果在重要方向上扩展了以前的 SSP 研究，并提出了一些政策含义和进一步研究的途径。