Concept information
Preferred term
unintended consequences
Definition
- A key element of sociology is perfectly summarised in the Scots poet Robert Burns's phrase ‘The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft aglay’ or, in English, ‘often go wrong’. Motives explain what people do (even if we go back further to find causes of those intentions unknown to the actor). But the consequences of action are often other than anticipated or intended. [Source: The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology; Unintended Consequences]
Broader concept
Belongs to group
URI
https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/unintended_consequences
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