To explain why an action is wrong, we sometimes say, “What if everybody did that?” In other words, even if a single person’s behavior is harmless, that behavior may be wrong if it would be harmful once universalized. We formalize the process of universalization in a computational model, test its quantitative predictions in studies of human moral judgment, and distinguish it from alternative models. We show that adults spontaneously make moral judgments consistent with the logic of universalization, and report comparable patterns of judgment in children. We conclude that, alongside other well-characterized mechanisms of moral judgment, such as outcome-based and rule-based thinking, the logic of universalizing holds an important place in our moral minds.

为了解释为什么错误的行为，我们有时会说：“如果每个人都这样做怎么办？” 换句话说，即使一个人的行为是无害的，但如果这种行为一旦普遍化就会有害，那该行为可能是错误的。我们在计算模型中形式化通用化的过程，在人类道德判断研究中测试其定量预测，并将其与替代模型区分开。我们表明，成年人自发地做出与普遍化逻辑相符的道德判断，并报告了儿童中类似的判断模式。我们得出的结论是，与其他公认的道德判断机制（例如基于结果的思维和基于规则的思维）一样，普遍化的逻辑在我们的道德观念中也占有重要地位。