What are binding moral foundations ?
They refer to strong commitments to principles, which unite individuals into collectives hat allow families, societies etc to thrive/grow
–> e.g.: obedience, loyalty, purity etc
Moral foundation theory (MFT)
Suggests that there are 5 psychological moral foundations on which most cultures build their systems of morality
- loyalty vs betrayal
- authority vs subversion
- purity vs degradation
- care vs harm
- fairness vs cheating
Limitations to the binding moral foundations ?
It might produce the motivation + justification necessary for people to withhold help from/directly harm out-group members
Pros on binding moral foundations
- Increases ones commitment to helping other people
- Accounts for why the worlds largest religions are still in power
Social Cognitive perspective of moral identity
Refers to an assumption that people whose moral identities are more accessible within the working self concept are more likely to behave in a manner consistent with their conceptions
Circle of moral regard
Refers to the psychological boundaries that people draw around all those people they deem worthy of moral consideration
What are the 3 ways to override/ameliorate our intuitive responses ?
1. Conscious verbal reasoning
–> cost-benefit ratio
2. Reframing a situation to see a new angle/ consequence
3. Social interaction
–> talking to other people who raise new arguments
Morality
Refers to a set of principles that indicate what is right/wrong or good/bad behavior
–> ties individuals to a certain type of group/community
Indirect reciprocity
Refers to an interaction between individuals in which the virtue pays by improving ones reputation
–> elicits later cooperation from others
=> solves the problem of fee-riders
Moral judgment
Refers to judgment that has moral content
–> used to evaluate situations, courses of action, persons, behavior, etc.
Moral reasoning
Refers to the conscious mental activity by which one evaluates a moral judgment for its consistency with other moral commitments
Social intuitionist model (SIM)
(Haidt)
States that moral judgment is predominantly intuitive, driven primarily by automatic emotional responses that are effortless + produced by unconscious processes
–> 3 types of psychological processes are interconnected
a) Intuition
b) Judgment
c) Reasoning
- moral positions/judgements are primarily intuitive, then rationalized
- often influenced and sometimes changed by discussing such positions/judgements with others
=> de-emphasizes the role of reasoning in reaching moral conclusions
Moral identity
Refers to the degree to which being a moral person is important to an individual’s identity
–> schemas of the moral self
e.g.: high levels have more respect for rights + welfare of others
Moral awareness
Refers to a persons determination that a situation contains moral content and can be considered from a moral point of view
–> is important in perceiving ones own behavior as well as the behavior of others
Dual process model of moral judgment
(Greene)
Suggests 2 ubiquitous + qualitatively different modes of moral thinking that depend on different systems in the brain
- Deontologcial moral judgements
- Utilitarian consequentialist judgments
Deontological moral judgments
Refer to judgments that are naturally regarded as reflecting concerns for rights + duties (ones’s moral principles)
–> driven by intuitive emotional responses
ex.: I don’t kill due to my moral principles
Utilitarian consequentialist judgments
Refer to judgments aimed at promoting the greater good (= not necessarily consistent with one’s moral principles)
–> supported by controlled cognitive processes/practical
ex.: killing 1 to save 5 people
Action principle/
Omission bias
Harm caused by an action is less morally acceptable than harm caused by an omission
ex.: death from administered poison vs death from allergy of foods that were delivered after
–> example of deontological moral judgements
Contact principle
Suggests that using physical contact to cause harm to a victim is less morally acceptable than causing harm to a victim without using physical contact
How can moralists, meaning people with differing attitudes influence each other ?
By transmitting moral principles that may be used to override moral intuitions
–> aiming at the “head”, not “heart” is of importance
Cultural differences in moral reasoning might even be stronger within cultures than across/between cultures.
Where does this stem from ?
- Differences in punishment habits between cultures
- Religious diversity
What are the differences in moral reasoning between cultures ?
- West emphasizes individual rights vs east emphasizes collective moral concerns/duty based communal obligations
- Westerners see harmful actions as immoral vs easterners see uncivilized actions as immoral
- Easterners consider contextual info more vs westerners personal info
Do general principles like: loyalty, purity etc necessarily lead to in-group favoritism ?
No,
–> strong moral identity expands the circle of moral regard
What influences one’s degree of morality in a given situation ?
1. Lack of sleep
- difficulty directing + influencing attentional processes by impacting the PFC
2. Stress
- causes emotional neural processes to activate, thinking more emotionally than rationally
3. Gender
- men are more likely to make utilitarian judgments
4. Moral reflection
- more reflection, more utilitarian
