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The framework\u2019s key features are (1) the explicit reference to the otherwise implicit utility assumptions for the affected groups and (2) the inclusion of deservedness arguments, a central tenet from moral philosophy. Conducted in the context of an employment agency that allocates job coaching slots, the study investigates two core questions: (1) How does the utility-based evaluation framework influence preferences for fairness metrics? (2) How does it affect the fairness perceptions of the resulting outcomes? The results show that people exposed to the utility-based evaluation framework choose different fairness metrics than people without such ethical guidance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s43681-025-00854-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,1]],"date-time":"2025-12-01T08:40:37Z","timestamp":1764578437000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Utility on the brain: an empirical investigation of fairness perceptions of algorithmic decisions under a utility-based ethical evaluation framework"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Serhiy","family":"Kandul","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Corinna","family":"Hertweck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ulrich","family":"Leicht-Deobald","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"854_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1943","DOI":"10.1007\/s43681-024-00577-5","volume":"5","author":"RT Rabonato","year":"2025","unstructured":"Rabonato, R.T., Berton, L.: A systematic review of fairness in machine learning. 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