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Law KF, Syropoulos S, Coleman M, Gainsburg I, O'Connor BB. Moral Future-Thinking: Does the Moral Circle Stand the Test of Time? PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2024:1461672241284324. [PMID: 39470223 DOI: 10.1177/01461672241284324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/30/2024]
Abstract
Humanity's long-term welfare may lie in the hands of those who are presently living, raising the question of whether people today hold the generations of tomorrow in their moral circles. Five studies (NTotal = 1652; Prolific) reveal present-oriented bias in the moral standing of future generations, with greater perceived moral obligation, moral concern, and prosocial intentions for proximal relative to distal future targets. Yet, present-oriented bias appears stronger for socially close compared with socially distant targets and for human targets relative to non-human animals and entities in nature. Individual differences, including longtermism beliefs and subjective imaginative vividness, predict greater concern for and obligation to the future. Likewise, concern and obligation predict greater future-oriented generosity. Our studies are among the first to explore moral considerations for targets across deep temporal expanses, reconcile conflicting evidence in the extant literature on moral judgment and future-thinking, and offer practical implications for bettering the shared societal future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Fiore Law
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Stylianos Syropoulos
- The Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | - Matthew Coleman
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Izzy Gainsburg
- Ash Center of Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
| | - Brendan Bo O'Connor
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
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2
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Krügel S, Ostermaier A, Uhl M. ChatGPT's inconsistent moral advice influences users' judgment. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4569. [PMID: 37024502 PMCID: PMC10079665 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31341-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
ChatGPT is not only fun to chat with, but it also searches information, answers questions, and gives advice. With consistent moral advice, it can improve the moral judgment and decisions of users. Unfortunately, ChatGPT's advice is not consistent. Nonetheless, it does influence users' moral judgment, we find in an experiment, even if they know they are advised by a chatting bot, and they underestimate how much they are influenced. Thus, ChatGPT corrupts rather than improves its users' moral judgment. While these findings call for better design of ChatGPT and similar bots, we also propose training to improve users' digital literacy as a remedy. Transparency, however, is not sufficient to enable the responsible use of AI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Krügel
- Faculty of Computer Science, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, Esplanade 10, 85049, Ingolstadt, Germany.
| | - Andreas Ostermaier
- Department of Business and Management, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense, Denmark
| | - Matthias Uhl
- Faculty of Computer Science, Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, Esplanade 10, 85049, Ingolstadt, Germany
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3
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The presence of automation enhances deontological considerations in moral judgments. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2022.107590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Bo O'Connor B, Fowler Z. How Imagination and Memory Shape the Moral Mind. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2022; 27:226-249. [PMID: 36062349 DOI: 10.1177/10888683221114215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Interdisciplinary research has proposed a multifaceted view of human cognition and morality, establishing that inputs from multiple cognitive and affective processes guide moral decisions. However, extant work on moral cognition has largely overlooked the contributions of episodic representation. The ability to remember or imagine a specific moment in time plays a broadly influential role in cognition and behavior. Yet, existing research has only begun exploring the influence of episodic representation on moral cognition. Here, we evaluate the theoretical connections between episodic representation and moral cognition, review emerging empirical work revealing how episodic representation affects moral decision-making, and conclude by highlighting gaps in the literature and open questions. We argue that a comprehensive model of moral cognition will require including the episodic memory system, further delineating its direct influence on moral thought, and better understanding its interactions with other mental processes to fundamentally shape our sense of right and wrong.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zoë Fowler
- University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
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5
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Koenig S, Gao Y. Moral decision making in adolescents: The effects of peer attachment, interpersonal affect, and gender. J Adolesc 2022; 94:166-175. [DOI: 10.1002/jad.12015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Scott Koenig
- Psychology Program The Graduate Center of the City University of New York New York New York USA
- Department of Psychology Brooklyn College of the City University of New York Brooklyn New York USA
| | - Yu Gao
- Psychology Program The Graduate Center of the City University of New York New York New York USA
- Department of Psychology Brooklyn College of the City University of New York Brooklyn New York USA
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Engelmann N, Waldmann MR. How to weigh lives. A computational model of moral judgment in multiple-outcome structures. Cognition 2021; 218:104910. [PMID: 34678683 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
When is it allowed to carry out an action that saves lives, but leads to the loss of others? While a minority of people may deny the permissibility of such actions categorically, most will probably say that the answer depends, among other factors, on the number of lives saved versus lives lost. Theories of moral reasoning acknowledge the importance of outcome trade-offs for moral judgments, but remain silent on the precise functional form of the psychological mechanism that determines their moral permissibility. An exception is Cohen and Ahn's (2016) subjective-utilitarian theory of moral judgment, but their model is currently limited to decisions in two-option life-and-death dilemmas. Our goal is to study other types of moral judgments in a larger set of cases. We propose a computational model based on sampling and integrating subjective utilities. Our model captures moral permissibility judgments about actions with multiple effects across a range of scenarios involving humans, animals, and plants, and is able to account for some response patterns that might otherwise be associated with deontological ethics. While our model can be embedded in a number of competing contemporary theories of moral reasoning, we argue that it would most fruitfully be combined with a causal model theory.
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Fowler Z, Law KF, Gaesser B. Against Empathy Bias: The Moral Value of Equitable Empathy. Psychol Sci 2021; 32:766-779. [PMID: 33909983 DOI: 10.1177/0956797620979965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy has long been considered central to living a moral life. However, mounting evidence has shown that people's empathy is often biased toward (i.e., felt more strongly for) others that they are close or similar to, igniting a debate over whether empathy is inherently morally flawed and should be abandoned in efforts to strive toward greater equity. This debate has focused on whether empathy limits the scope of our morality, but little consideration has been given to whether our moral beliefs may be limiting our empathy. Across two studies conducted on Amazon's Mechanical Turk (N = 604), we investigated moral judgments of biased and equitable feelings of empathy. We observed a moral preference for empathy toward socially close over distant others. However, feeling equal empathy for all people is seen as the most morally and socially valuable approach. These findings provide new theoretical insight into the relationship between empathy and morality, and they have implications for navigating toward a more egalitarian future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë Fowler
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York
| | - Kyle Fiore Law
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York
| | - Brendan Gaesser
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York
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Dissociable associations of alexithymia and altruistic propensity with distinct cognitive processes underlying moral decision making. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-020-01295-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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10
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Should you save the more useful? The effect of generality on moral judgments about rescue and indirect effects. Cognition 2020; 206:104501. [PMID: 33160242 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Across eight experiments (N = 2310), we studied whether people would prioritize rescuing individuals who may be thought to contribute more to society. We found that participants were generally dismissive of general rules that prioritize more socially beneficial individuals, such as doctors instead of unemployed people. By contrast, participants were more supportive of one-off decisions to save the life of a more socially beneficial individual, even when such cases were the same as those covered by the rule. This generality effect occurred robustly even when controlling for various factors. It occurred when the decision-maker was the same in both cases, when the pairs of people differing in the extent of their indirect social utility was varied, when the scenarios were varied, when the participant samples came from different countries, and when the general rule only covered cases that are exactly the same as the situation described in the one-off condition. The effect occurred even when the general rule was introduced via a concrete precedent case. Participants' tendency to be more supportive of the one-off proposal than the general rule was significantly reduced when they evaluated the two proposals jointly as opposed to separately. Finally, the effect also occurred in sacrificial moral dilemmas, a general phenomenon occurring in multiple moral contexts. We discuss possible explanations of the effect, including concerns about negative consequences of the rule and a deontological aversion against making difficult trade-off decisions unless they are absolutely necessary.
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Oftedal G, Ravn IH, Dahl FA. No Correlation Between Ethical Judgment in Trolley Dilemmas and Vaccine Scenarios for Nurse Specialist Students. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics 2020; 15:292-297. [PMID: 32189547 PMCID: PMC7491245 DOI: 10.1177/1556264620911234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We tested whether responses to trolley problems by nurse specialist students correlated with their responses to hypothetical vaccine problems, as a follow-up to a similar study on ethics committees. No statistically significant correlation was found between the trolley and vaccination scores. These results confirmed and strengthened the finding of a very weak correlation (possibly zero), and the point estimate was even lower than for the ethics committees. Hence, the nurse specialists' responses to the trolley problems cannot be used to indicate any direction for their responses to the vaccine problems, although there is a common core issue of sacrificing some for many. The respondents reported a relatively high willingness to push one man in front of a trolley to save five. They also reported a high willingness to act in trolley dilemmas compared with vaccination dilemmas, although the dimensions of risk-reward ratios and consent heavily favored the latter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gry Oftedal
- Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas, University of Oslo, Norway
| | - Ingrid H. Ravn
- Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway
| | - Fredrik A. Dahl
- Health Services Research Unit, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Campus Ahus, University of Oslo, Norway
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13
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Universals and variations in moral decisions made in 42 countries by 70,000 participants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:2332-2337. [PMID: 31964849 PMCID: PMC7007553 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1911517117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
We report the largest cross-cultural study of moral preferences in sacrificial dilemmas, that is, the circumstances under which people find it acceptable to sacrifice one life to save several. On the basis of 70,000 responses to three dilemmas, collected in 10 languages and 42 countries, we document a universal qualitative pattern of preferences together with substantial country-level variations in the strength of these preferences. In particular, we document a strong association between low relational mobility (where people are more cautious about not alienating their current social partners) and the tendency to reject sacrifices for the greater good—which may be explained by the positive social signal sent by such a rejection. We make our dataset publicly available for researchers. When do people find it acceptable to sacrifice one life to save many? Cross-cultural studies suggested a complex pattern of universals and variations in the way people approach this question, but data were often based on small samples from a small number of countries outside of the Western world. Here we analyze responses to three sacrificial dilemmas by 70,000 participants in 10 languages and 42 countries. In every country, the three dilemmas displayed the same qualitative ordering of sacrifice acceptability, suggesting that this ordering is best explained by basic cognitive processes rather than cultural norms. The quantitative acceptability of each sacrifice, however, showed substantial country-level variations. We show that low relational mobility (where people are more cautious about not alienating their current social partners) is strongly associated with the rejection of sacrifices for the greater good (especially for Eastern countries), which may be explained by the signaling value of this rejection. We make our dataset fully available as a public resource for researchers studying universals and variations in human morality.
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Abstract
Although many studies show cultural or ecological variability in moral judgments, cross-cultural responses to the trolley problem (kill one person to save five others) indicate that certain moral principles might be prevalent in human populations. We conducted a study in a traditional, indigenous, non-Western society inhabiting the remote Yalimo valley in Papua, Indonesia. We modified the original trolley dilemma to produce an ecologically valid "falling tree dilemma." Our experiment showed that the Yali are significantly less willing than Western people to sacrifice one person to save five others in this moral dilemma. The results indicate that utilitarian moral judgments to the trolley dilemma might be less widespread than previously supposed. On the contrary, they are likely to be mediated by sociocultural factors.
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McHugh C, McGann M, Igou ER, Kinsella EL. Reasons or rationalizations: The role of principles in the moral dumbfounding paradigm. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cillian McHugh
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Limerick Limerick Ireland
| | - Marek McGann
- Department of Psychology, Mary Immaculate CollegeUniversity of Limerick Limerick Ireland
| | - Eric R. Igou
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Limerick Limerick Ireland
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16
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Switching Tracks? Towards a Multidimensional Model of Utilitarian Psychology. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:124-134. [PMID: 31911126 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Sacrificial moral dilemmas are widely used to investigate when, how, and why people make judgments that are consistent with utilitarianism. However, to what extent can responses to sacrificial dilemmas shed light on utilitarian decision making? We consider two key questions. First, how meaningful is the relationship between responses to sacrificial dilemmas, and what is distinctive about a utilitarian approach to morality? Second, to what extent do findings about sacrificial dilemmas generalize to other moral contexts where there is tension between utilitarianism and common-sense intuitions? We argue that sacrificial dilemmas only capture one point of conflict between utilitarianism and common-sense morality, and new paradigms will be necessary to investigate other key aspects of utilitarianism, such as its radical impartiality.
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17
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Drivers are blamed more than their automated cars when both make mistakes. Nat Hum Behav 2019; 4:134-143. [DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0762-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Bostyn DH, Roets A. Should Trolleys Be Scared of Mice? Replies to Evans and Brandt (2019); Białek, Turpin, and Fugelsang (2019); Colman, Gold, and Pulford (2019); and Plunkett and Greene (2019). Psychol Sci 2019; 30:1392-1396. [PMID: 31361569 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619865236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Dries H Bostyn
- Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent University
| | - Arne Roets
- Department of Developmental, Personality, and Social Psychology, Ghent University
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Not all who ponder count costs: Arithmetic reflection predicts utilitarian tendencies, but logical reflection predicts both deontological and utilitarian tendencies. Cognition 2019; 192:103995. [PMID: 31301587 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Conventional sacrificial moral dilemmas propose directly causing some harm to prevent greater harm. Theory suggests that accepting such actions (consistent with utilitarian philosophy) involves more reflective reasoning than rejecting such actions (consistent with deontological philosophy). However, past findings do not always replicate, confound different kinds of reflection, and employ conventional sacrificial dilemmas that treat utilitarian and deontological considerations as opposite. In two studies, we examined whether past findings would replicate when employing process dissociation to assess deontological and utilitarian inclinations independently. Findings suggested two categorically different impacts of reflection: measures of arithmetic reflection, such as the Cognitive Reflection Test, predicted only utilitarian, not deontological, response tendencies. However, measures of logical reflection, such as performance on logical syllogisms, positively predicted both utilitarian and deontological tendencies. These studies replicate some findings, clarify others, and reveal opportunity for additional nuance in dual process theorist's claims about the link between reflection and dilemma judgments.
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