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Ahluwalia-McMeddes A, Moore A, Marr C, Kunders Z. Moral trade-offs reveal foundational representations that predict unique variance in political attitudes. BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38979983 DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) explains variation in moral judgements on the basis of multiple innate, intuitive foundations and has been subject to criticism over recent years. Prior research has tended to rely on explicit self-report in the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ). In contrast, we seek to capture intuitive choices between foundations in a novel task - the Moral Foundations Conflict Task (MFCT). Across four studies, responses on this task reflect foundations measured by the MFQ (study 1), are not altered under cognitive load or reduced cognitive control (studies 2a and 2b); and explain unique variance in political orientation and related constructs (study 3). Furthermore, using responses and response times generated on the MFCT, we present a computationally explicit model of foundation-related intuitive judgements and show that these patterns are consistent with the theoretical claims of MFT. These findings show that the MFCT outperforms the MFQ and can contribute to the understanding of moral value conflicts, furthering debate on the nature of moral values.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam Moore
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Calum Marr
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Zara Kunders
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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2
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Lockhart C, Lee CHJ, Sibley CG, Osborne D. The sanctity of life: The role of purity in attitudes towards abortion and euthanasia. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 58:16-29. [PMID: 36097848 PMCID: PMC10086843 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Although abortion and euthanasia are highly contested issues at the heart of the culture war, the moral foundations underlying ideological differences on these issues are mostly unknown. Given that much of the extant debate is framed around the sanctity of life, we argued that the moral foundation of purity/sanctity-a core moral belief that emphasises adherence to the "natural order"-would mediate the negative relationship between conservatism and support for abortion and euthanasia. As hypothesised, results from a nation-wide random sample of adults in New Zealand (N = 3360) revealed that purity/sanctity mediated the relationship between conservatism and opposition to both policies. These results demonstrate that, rather than being motivated by a desire to reduce harm, conservative opposition to pro-choice and end-of-life decisions is (partly) based on the view that ending a life, even if it is one's own, violates God's natural design and, thus, stains one's spiritual purity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carol H J Lee
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Chris G Sibley
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Danny Osborne
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Thomas AJ, Mitchell V, Sumner E, Terrizzi BF, Piff PK, Sarnecka BW. Intuitive Sociology: Children Recognize Decision-Making Structures and Prefer Groups With Less-Concentrated Power. Open Mind (Camb) 2022; 6:25-40. [PMID: 36439067 PMCID: PMC9692051 DOI: 10.1162/opmi_a_00053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
From an early age, children recognize that people belong to social groups. However, not all groups are structured in the same way. The current study asked whether children recognize and distinguish among different decision-making structures. If so, do they prefer some decision-making structures over others? In these studies, children were told stories about two groups that went camping. In the hierarchical group, one character made all the decisions; in the egalitarian group, each group member made one decision. Without being given explicit information about the group's structures, 6- to 8-year-old children, but not 4- and 5-year-old children, recognized that the two groups had different decision-making structures and preferred to interact with the group where decision-making was shared. Children also inferred that a new member of the egalitarian group would be more generous than a new member of the hierarchical group. Thus, from an early age, children's social reasoning includes the ability to compare social structures, which may be foundational for later complex political and moral reasoning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley J. Thomas
- Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| | - Vivian Mitchell
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine
| | - Emily Sumner
- Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine
| | - Brandon F. Terrizzi
- Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
| | - Paul K. Piff
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine
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Zakharin M, Bates TC. Remapping the foundations of morality: Well-fitting structural model of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258910. [PMID: 34679123 PMCID: PMC8535174 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Moral foundations theory posits five moral foundations, however 5-factor models provide poor fit to the data. Here, in five studies, each with large samples (total N = 11,496), we construct and replicate a well-fitting model of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ). In study 1 (N = 2,271) we tested previously theorised models, confirming none provide adequate fit. We then developed a well-fitting model of the MFQ. In this model, the fairness/reciprocity and harm/care foundations were preserved intact. The binding foundations, however, divided into five, rather than the original three foundations. Purity/sanctity split into independent foundations of purity and sanctity. Similarly, Ingroup/loyalty divided into independent factors of loyalty to clan and loyalty to country. Authority/respect was re-focussed on hierarchy, losing one item to the new sanctity foundation and another into loyalty to country. In addition to these 7 foundations, higher-level factors of binding and individualizing were supported, along with a general/acquiescence factor. Finally, a "moral tilt" factor corresponding to coordinated left-leaning vs. right-leaning moral patterns was supported. We validated the model in four additional studies, testing replication of the 7-foundation model in data including from US, Australia, and China (total N = 9,225). The model replicated with good fit found in all four samples. These findings demonstrate the first well-fitting replicable model of the MFQ. They also highlight the importance of modelling measurement structure, and reveal important additional foundations, and structure (binding, individualizing, tilt) above the foundations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Zakharin
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Timothy C. Bates
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Hone LSE, McCauley TG, Pedersen EJ, Carter EC, McCullough ME. The sex premium in religiously motivated moral judgment. J Pers Soc Psychol 2021; 120:1621-1633. [PMID: 32463272 PMCID: PMC7704543 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Recent theorizing suggests that religious people's moral convictions are quite strategic (albeit unconsciously so), designed to make their worlds more amenable to their favored approaches to solving life's basic challenges. In a meta-analysis of 5 experiments and a preregistered replication, we find that religious identity places a sex premium on moral judgments, causing people to judge violations of conventional sexual morality as particularly objectionable. The sex premium is especially strong among highly religious people, and applies to both legal and illegal acts. Religion's influence on moral reasoning emphasizes conventional sexual norms, and may reflect the strategic projects to which religion has been applied throughout history. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana S. E. Hone
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami; Clinical and
Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo
| | - Thomas G. McCauley
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami; Department of
Psychology, University of California, San Diego
| | - Eric J. Pedersen
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami; Department of
Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Evan C. Carter
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami; Human Research and
Engineering Directorate, United States Army Research Laboratory
| | - Michael E. McCullough
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami; Department of
Psychology, University of California, San Diego
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Religious moral righteousness over care: a review and a meta-analysis. Curr Opin Psychol 2020; 40:79-85. [PMID: 33039946 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Does religion enhance an 'extended' morality? We review research on religiousness and Schwartz's values, Haidt's moral foundations (through a meta-analysis of 45 studies), and deontology versus consequentialism (a review of 27 studies). Instead of equally encompassing prosocial (care for others) and other values (duties to the self, the community, and the sacred), religiosity implies a restrictive morality: endorsement of values denoting social order (conservation, loyalty, and authority), self-control (low autonomy and self-expansion), and purity more strongly than care; and, furthermore, a deontological, non-consequentialist, righteous orientation, that could result in harm to (significant) others. Religious moral righteousness is highest in fundamentalism and weakens in secular countries. Only spirituality reflects an extended morality (care, fairness, and the binding foundations). Evolutionarily, religious morality seems to be more coalitional and 'hygienic' than caring.
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Grafman J, Cristofori I, Zhong W, Bulbulia J. The Neural Basis of Religious Cognition. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/0963721419898183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Religion’s neural underpinnings have long been a topic of speculation and debate, but an emerging neuroscience of religion is beginning to clarify which regions of the brain integrate moral, ritual, and supernatural religious beliefs with functionally adaptive responses. Here, we review evidence indicating that religious cognition involves a complex interplay among the brain regions underpinning cognitive control, social reasoning, social motivations, and ideological beliefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Grafman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
- Department of Psychiatry, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
- Department of Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
| | - Irene Cristofori
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5229, Bron, France
- Department of Human Biology, University of Lyon
| | - Wanting Zhong
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University
| | - Joseph Bulbulia
- School of Humanities, University of Auckland
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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Development and validation of the Japanese Moral Foundations Dictionary. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213343. [PMID: 30908489 PMCID: PMC6433225 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Moral Foundations Dictionary (MFD) is a useful tool for applying the conceptual framework developed in Moral Foundations Theory and quantifying the moral meanings implicated in the linguistic information people convey. However, the applicability of the MFD is limited because it is available only in English. Translated versions of the MFD are therefore needed to study morality across various cultures, including non-Western cultures. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. We developed the first Japanese version of the MFD (referred to as the J-MFD) using a semi-automated method-this serves as a reference when translating the MFD into other languages. We next tested the validity of the J-MFD by analyzing open-ended written texts about the situations that Japanese participants thought followed and violated the five moral foundations. We found that the J-MFD correctly categorized the Japanese participants' descriptions into the corresponding moral foundations, and that the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) scores correlated with the frequency of situations, of total words, and of J-MFD words in the participants' descriptions for the Harm and Fairness foundations. The J-MFD can be used to study morality unique to the Japanese and also multicultural comparisons in moral behavior.
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Shaver JH, Troughton G, Sibley CG, Bulbulia JA. Religion and the Unmaking of Prejudice toward Muslims: Evidence from a Large National Sample. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0150209. [PMID: 26959976 PMCID: PMC4784898 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Accepted: 02/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In the West, anti-Muslim sentiments are widespread. It has been theorized that inter-religious tensions fuel anti-Muslim prejudice, yet previous attempts to isolate sectarian motives have been inconclusive. Factors contributing to ambiguous results are: (1) failures to assess and adjust for multi-level denomination effects; (2) inattention to demographic covariates; (3) inadequate methods for comparing anti-Muslim prejudice relative to other minority group prejudices; and (4) ad hoc theories for the mechanisms that underpin prejudice and tolerance. Here we investigate anti-Muslim prejudice using a large national sample of non-Muslim New Zealanders (N = 13,955) who responded to the 2013 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. We address previous shortcomings by: (1) building Bayesian multivariate, multi-level regression models with denominations modeled as random effects; (2) including high-resolution demographic information that adjusts for factors known to influence prejudice; (3) simultaneously evaluating the relative strength of anti-Muslim prejudice by comparing it to anti-Arab prejudice and anti-immigrant prejudice within the same statistical model; and (4) testing predictions derived from the Evolutionary Lag Theory of religious prejudice and tolerance. This theory predicts that in countries such as New Zealand, with historically low levels of conflict, religion will tend to increase tolerance generally, and extend to minority religious groups. Results show that anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiments are confounded, widespread, and substantially higher than anti-immigrant sentiments. In support of the theory, the intensity of religious commitments was associated with a general increase in tolerance toward minority groups, including a poorly tolerated religious minority group: Muslims. Results clarify religion's power to enhance tolerance in peaceful societies that are nevertheless afflicted by prejudice.
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Affiliation(s)
- John H. Shaver
- Religious Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Geoffrey Troughton
- Religious Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Chris G. Sibley
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Joseph A. Bulbulia
- Religious Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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Osborne D, Milojev P, Sibley CG. Examining the indirect effects of religious orientations on well-being through personal locus of control. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Danny Osborne
- School of Psychology; University of Auckland; Auckland New Zealand
| | - Petar Milojev
- School of Psychology; Massey University; Auckland New Zealand
| | - Chris G. Sibley
- School of Psychology; University of Auckland; Auckland New Zealand
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