Editing Unintended consequences (section)

{{Short description|Unforeseen outcomes of an action}}
{{About|the sociological concept|the novel|Unintended Consequences (novel)}}
{{redirect|Law of unintended consequences| the Wikipedia policy about law of unintended consequences|Wikipedia:Conflict of interest#Law of unintended consequences}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} 
[[Image:Rabbit-erosion.jpg|thumb|A [[gully erosion]] in Australia caused by rabbits, an unintended consequence of [[rabbits in Australia|their introduction as game animals]]]]
In the [[social sciences]], '''unintended consequences''' (sometimes '''unanticipated consequences''' or '''unforeseen consequences''', more colloquially called '''knock-on effects''') are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was popularized in the 20th century by American [[sociologist]] [[Robert K. Merton]].<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/24/nyregion/robert-k-merton-versatile-sociologist-and-father-of-the-focus-group-dies-at-92.html Robert K. Merton, Versatile Sociologist and Father of the Focus Group, Dies at 92], Michael T. Kaufman, ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>

Unintended consequences can be grouped into three types:
* ''Unexpected benefit'':  A positive unexpected benefit (also referred to as [[luck]], [[serendipity]], or a [[wikt:windfall|windfall]]).
* ''Unexpected drawback'':  An unexpected detriment occurring in addition to the desired effect of the policy (e.g., while [[irrigation]] schemes provide people with water for agriculture, they can increase [[waterborne diseases]] that have devastating health effects, such as [[schistosomiasis]]).
* ''Perverse result'': A perverse effect contrary to what was originally intended (when an intended solution makes a problem worse).