Modeling guilty minds: Laypeople treat knowledge as categorically distinct from recklessnes.

This article focuses on a study examining whether laypeople can reliably distinguish the four levels of criminal culpability defined by the Model Penal Code (MPC)—purpose, knowledge, recklessness, and negligence—through inferential reasoning. In an experiment with 212 participants evaluating contraband smuggling scenarios, risk perception strongly influenced culpability judgments, with payment for smuggling increasing perceived culpability. The study found that knowledge judgments differed qualitatively from other categories, being driven more by the type of contraband than by risk assessment. These findings suggest that while laypeople can systematically infer MPC mental states, the category of knowledge operates through distinct cognitive processes. The research is based on a preprint that has not yet undergone peer review. [Extracted from the article]