Economic and Social Political Ideology and Homophobia: The Mediating Role of Binding and Individualizing Moral Foundations

The Role of Moral Foundations in Support for Sex Work Decriminalization by Venue

The criminal status of prostitution has received greater attention from policymakers and advocates in recent years, but systematic policy change has yet to take root in the United States. These efforts have been both motivated and challenged by a strong moral discourse, resulting in policies that are more reflective of ideology than efficacy. While the popularization of sex work through online avenues like social media has altered the traditional concept of sex work, there is an incomplete understanding of public attitudes toward decriminalization in this modern market. Using national data from 519 U.S. adults, the present study applied Moral Foundations Theory to investigate support for sex work decriminalization in three venues (brothel, online, street). Overall, results show lower support for decriminalization of street sex work compared to brothel and online sex work, and that the effects of moral foundations on support for decriminalization are consistent across all venues. Individualizing foundations (i.e. harm, fairness) do not predict support for decriminalization, while binding and liberty foundations explain some variation in support. Implications of the findings speak to the potential barriers to criminal justice reform in this area and the role of moral arguments in this dispute.

Moral Foundations Partially Explain the Associations of Machiavellianism, Grandiose Narcissism, and Psychopathy With Homonegativity and Transnegativity

People with antagonistic (or "dark") personality traits (e.g., Machiavellianism, grandiose narcissism, and psychopathy) are reportedly more racist, sexist, and xenophobic than their non-antagonistic counterparts. In the present studies (N1 = 709; N2 = 267), we examined whether people with antagonistic personality traits are also more likely to express homonegative and transnegative attitudes, and, if so, whether this can be explained by their endorsement of the moral foundations. We found that people high in Machiavellianism, grandiose narcissism, and psychopathy are more likely to endorse homonegative and transnegative views. The associations of Machiavellianism and psychopathy with homonegativity and transnegativity were primarily explained by low endorsement of individualizing moral foundations (i.e., care and fairness), while the association of narcissism with these beliefs was primarily explained by high endorsement of the binding moral foundations (i.e., loyalty, authority, and purity). These findings provide insight into the types of people who harbor homonegative and transnegative attitudes, and how differences in moral foundations contribute to these associations.

Sexualization of Children or Human Rights? Attitudes Toward Addressing Sexual-Orientation Diversity in School

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents are more likely to experience mental health problems than their heterosexual peers because they are victimized more often or fear discrimination. Governmental plans to improve this situation by addressing sexual diversity in German schools have been accompanied by public resistance and misinformation, e.g., that they aim to sexualize children. The present study assessed how widespread negative attitudes toward such plans really are and how they can be explained. A random sample of 2,013 German residents was surveyed by phone. Only 10% opposed promoting acceptance of LGB in school. Approval of such plans was predominantly predicted by respondents' beliefs about sexual orientation and the plans' aim, and only marginally by societal values. Respondents who knew that the plans' aim was to promote acceptance of LGB and not to sexualize children and that children with same-sex parents are just as well off as those with heterosexual parents showed higher approval, whereas respondents who believed that homosexuality is affected by socialization showed higher opposition.

Association between Homophobia and Sociodemographic Characteristics in Health Workers in Southern Chile

Homophobic attitude in health workers is a social determinant in the health of the homosexual population because it affects healthcare and its access and equity. The objective was to determine the relationship between the level of homophobia and sociodemographic characteristics of primary health workers in southern Chile. This was an analytical cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 491 public servants from health centers in southern Chile. The attitudes toward lesbians and gay men (ATLG) scale was applied, and a binary logistic regression model was performed to evaluate the association. The study participants were predominantly women (76.0%), under 40 years of age (63.5%), heterosexuals (93.5%), and unpartnered (68.2%) but with children (61.7%), and they also had an educational attainment ≥ 12 years (66.6%). About 87.6% of the participants held healthcare positions, and the majority were religious believers (74.3%) and had a centrist political affiliation (51.0%). Results indicated that 34% of the participants exhibited homophobic attitudes; there were statistically significant differences with respect to age, number of children, educational attainment, religion, and political affiliation (p < 0.01). These were higher in individuals ≥40 years of age, with ≥3 children, with educational attainment ≥ 12 years, holding a healthcare position, who were religious believers, and who had right-wing political affiliation.

Examining the relations among moral foundations, potentially morally injurious events, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms

Military veterans are exposed to unique deployment stressors that can precipitate the onset of various psychological difficulties, including the perception that an important moral standard has been transgressed (i.e., potentially morally injurious events [PMIEs]) and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Vulnerability to these outcomes may be related to individual differences in moral foundations, including those that function to protect the individual (i.e., individualizing) and those that function to protect the group (i.e., binding).

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the direct and indirect associations among moral foundations, PMIEs, and PTSD symptoms.

METHOD

Participants were 203 military veterans (M age = 35.08, 77.30% male) who completed an online survey.

RESULTS

Only the binding moral foundation was found to be significantly and positively associated with both PMIEs and PTSD symptoms. Further, the association between the binding foundation and PTSD symptoms was explained by PMIEs.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that certain moral foundations, particularly those that serve "binding" functions-loyalty, authority, and purity-may be important considerations in military mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Politics Turns Moral Foundations Into Consequences of Intergroup Attitudes

Abstract. Applying a longitudinal design, we tested the directions of the relationships between moral foundations and attitudes toward Muslim immigrants. The study was conducted during the official campaign period of the Hungarian parliamentary elections in 2018. It was found that moral foundations are consequences of intergroup attitudes. Latent change modeling showed that while individualizing foundations were independent of anti-Muslim attitudes, longitudinal change in binding foundations was predicted by prior anti-Muslim attitudes, but not the other way around. Furthermore, this relationship was moderated by exposure to the anti-Muslim and anti-immigration campaigns led by the government. These results suggest that people are motivated to harmonize their moral concerns with their prior social beliefs, and they actively utilize available political messages in this process.

Reanalysing the factor structure of the moral foundations questionnaire

The moral foundations theory (MFT) is an influential multifactorial model that posits how decision-making in the moral context originates from a set of six intuitive moral foundations: care, fairness, authority, loyalty, purity, and liberty. The established measure of these foundations-the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ)-has been used extensively in a range of empirical projects. However, recent analyses of its factor structure and the internal consistency of each of the foundation clusters have called its validity into question. In this paper, data from a large sample of British voters were used to re-examine the factor structure of the MFQ. As opposed to a 6-factor structure, only three meaningful clusters emerged in an exploratory principal factors analysis (Study 1; N = 428): traditionalism, compassion, and liberty. This structure was broadly confirmed in an independent sample (Study 2; N = 322). Concurrent validity was established via correlations with measures of 'social change' and 'systemic inequality' insecurities (Study 1) and voting behaviour and preferences (Study 2). Significant differences on each of the three factors of the revised MFQ (MFQ-r) were observed between the voters of different political parties (Study 1) and sides of the Brexit issue (Study 2). Implications for moral foundations theory and its measurement are discussed.

The Role of Empathy in the Relationship Between Social Political Ideology and Sexual Prejudice in Heterosexual College Students in the U.S

While public acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals and same-sex relations has grown over the past few decades, there is still opposition to LGB civil rights in the U.S. Previous literature has found links between political ideology and sexual prejudice, while empathy has been linked to both political ideology and sexual prejudice. However, no study has examined the interrelationships between these three variables. For this study, an online survey was administered to a diverse sample of college students in exchange for course credit, and those who self-identified as heterosexual were retained for analyses (N = 1143; 66.1% female; 45.5% White). Mediation analyses were performed to examine whether two subfacets of empathy (empathic concern and perspective taking) mediated the relationship between political ideology and sexual prejudice. Due to gender differences in sexual prejudice and empathy, gender was included in the model as a moderator. The results of moderated mediation analyses indicated both empathic concern and perspective taking were mediators for women, while perspective taking was the only mediator for men. These results suggest that interventions for sexual prejudice may be more effective when using approaches that promote taking the perspective of LGB individuals. Specifically, interventions that utilize empathy training or direct contact with LGB individuals may result in a decrease in sexual prejudice.

Clinging to power, clinging to life: Rightwing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and attitudes toward life extension

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between political ideology and attitudes toward life extension among college students (N = 484). Older age and male gender were associated with more positive attitudes toward life extension, while religious commitment was not. Authoritarian aggression/submission and social dominance orientation were associated with more positive attitudes toward life extension. The results suggest older people, men, and individuals higher in authoritarian traits and social dominance orientation may be more likely to use life-extending biomedical technology.

Choice of and comfort with health care proxy among older adults: Hierarchical compensation and perceived similarity in values

The purpose of this study was to investigate choice of and comfort with health care proxy among older adults (N = 240). Results indicated that choice of proxy follows a hierarchical compensation model. Perceived similarity regarding end-of-life preferences and political views were not associated with comfort with proxy; however, perceived similarity with regards to religious values was associated with comfort with proxy. Attempts to promote advance care planning and advance directives may benefit from emphasizing individuals' choice and autonomy but also their opportunity to designate a health care proxy who they feel represents their religious values.

The Association Between Disgust Sensitivity and Negative Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: The Mediating Role of Moral Foundations

Previous studies have found that "disgust-sensitive" individuals have negative attitudes toward gay and lesbian people, but the underlying mechanisms for such attitudes remain unclear. Based on moral foundations theory, the current paper assumes that the relationship between disgust sensitivity and attitudes toward homosexuality are mediated by moral foundations. In order to test this assumption, the current authors examined the questionnaire answers from a total of 452 Chinese undergraduates who participated in this study. The results showed that disgust sensitivity was positively correlated with negative attitudes toward homosexuality, and positively correlated with moral concerns in five domains (care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and sanctity). Authority and sanctity were both associated with attitudes toward homosexuality, while only sanctity mediated the relationship between disgust sensitivity and attitudes toward homosexuality. Overall, the results suggest that considering moral foundations (especially sanctity) may lend more insight to the associations between disgust sensitivity and negative attitudes toward gay and lesbian people.

Attitudes toward euthanasia among hospice nurses: Political ideology or religious commitment?

Attitudes toward euthanasia have been linked with political ideology among hospice nurses; however, a larger body of research has linked attitudes toward euthanasia with religiosity. The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between political ideology, religious commitment, and attitudes toward active and passive euthanasia among hospice nurses. Hospice nurses (N = 90) volunteered to take an online survey. Religious commitment fully mediated the relationship between social political ideology and disapproval of active euthanasia. The results suggest that, among hospice nurses, religious commitment accounts for links between social political ideology and disapproval of active euthanasia.