Problem 7: Moral Judgment

Question 1

Emotion

Answer 1

leads us to make fast relatively “automatic” decisions

Question 2

Cognition

Answer 2

(reason)
produces slower, more considered decisions

Question 3

Dual-process model of decisions made with moral dilemmas (Greene)

Answer 3

1. a fast, automatic, and affective system
   –> intuitive
   –> emotion generation/ emotional processing
   –> ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)
2. a slower, effortful, and more “cognitive” system
   –> deliberate
   –> cognitive control/controlled processing
   –> dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)

–> assumption that utilitarian responding to moral dilemmas requires deliberate correction of an intuitive deontological response

Question 4

deontological judgments

Answer 4

judgments based on moral rules and/or obligations when resolving moral dilemmas

–> the morality of an action depends on the intrinsic nature of the action
–> harming someone is considered wrong regardless of its potential benefits
–> use System 1

Question 5

utilitarian judgments

Answer 5

judgments based on practical and pragmatic considerations when resolving moral dilemmas

–> the morality of an action is determined by its consequences
–> one performs a cost-benefit analysis and chooses the greater good
–> use System 2

Question 6

Counter evidence of the Dual-Process Model

Answer 6

–> the utilitarian response is given in the initial phase of a moral judgment
–> utilitarian responders do not necessarily need to deliberate to correct an initial deontological response
–> utilitarian intuitions are not a curiosity that results from extreme or trivial scenario content but lies at the very core of the moral reasoning process

Question 7

personal moral dilemma

Answer 7

we might directly harm one or more individuals through our actions

–> footbridge dilemma

Question 8

impersonal moral dilemma

Answer 8

any harm is only indirectly due to our actions

–> trolley dilemma

Question 9

CNI model (Grawonski)

Answer 9

C = Consequences
N = Moral Norms
I = Preference for Inaction

in moral dilemmas, utilitarian judgments could actually be a lack of aversion to harming others and deontological judgments could be a general preference for inaction regardless of moral norms

Question 10

moral judgment stories

Answer 10

stories designed to trigger moral intuitions of condemnation, actions in them are disgusting or disrespectful, but completely harmless

Question 11

WEIRD society morality

Answer 11

a morality that protects those individuals and their individual rights

–> emphasizes concerns about harm and fairness

Question 12

non-WEIRD society morality

Answer 12

sociocentric morality –> you place the needs of groups and institutions first, often ahead of the needs of individuals

Question 13

The ethic of autonomy

Answer 13

based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, autonomous individuals with wants, needs, and preferences

–> concepts in a society: rights, liberty, and justice
–> dominant in individualistic societies

Question 14

The ethic of community

Answer 14

based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, members of larger entities such as families, teams, armies, companies, tribes, and nations

–> concepts in a society: duty, hierarchy, respect, reputation, and patriotism

Question 15

The ethic of divinity

Answer 15

based on the idea that people are, first and foremost, temporary vessels within which a divine soul has been implanted

–> concepts in a society: sanctity and sin purity and pollution, elevation and degradation

Question 16

Topography of purity

Answer 16

The human mind perceives a vertical dimension of social space, running from God or moral perfection at the top down through angels, humans, other animals, monsters, demons, and then the devil, or perfect evil, at the bottom

high = good = pure = God
low = bad = dirty = animal

Question 17

moral disgust

Answer 17

is felt whenever we see or hear about people whose behavior shows them to be low in the vertical dimension

Question 18

Matrix

Answer 18

Each matrix provides a complete, unified, and emotionally compelling worldview, easily justified by observable evidence and nearly impregnable to attack by arguments from outsiders

Enlightenment –> exploring new matrices, each one supported by its own intellectual traditions can feel like a kind of awakening

Potential concerns that are not activated during childhood are left undeveloped and unconnected to the web of shared meanings and values that become our adult moral matrix

Question 19

moral identity

Answer 19

captures whether the moral self-schema is central to an individual’s self-definition

situational cues (e.g., seeing an American flag) have the power to momentarily influence social information processing by activating or deactivating certain knowledge structures (e.g., one’s national identity), or schemas, in an individual’s working self-concept

Question 20

internalization

Answer 20

private aspect –> captures chronic accessibility of the self-schema thus indicating the chronic subjective experience of having a moral identity

Question 21

symbolization

Answer 21

public aspect –> captures importance a person places on exhibiting a public moral self as a way of affirming one’s morality (partly driven by impression management, self-verification motives)

Question 22

prescriptive moral regulation

Answer 22

good deeds –> e.g., charitable giving, helping behaviors

high internalizers feel a strong sense of obligation to show moral concern about socially distant others

internalization primacy principle (IPP)
–> internalization is more important than symbolization when it comes to the impact of moral cues

Question 23

proscriptive moral regulation

Answer 23

cheating, interpersonal mistreatment, retaliatory behaviors

high symbolizers are resistant to the influence of processing frames when evaluating unfair acts toward others; also magnify retaliatory and punitive reactions to mistreatment by others

Strong effect on high internalizers —> justify the engagement in unethical acts; greater resources to restrain selfish/unethical desires

internalization-symbolization equality principle (ISEP)
–> internalization and symbolization both shape how individuals react to cues in their environment

Question 24

Social Intuitionist Model (Haidt)

Answer 24

= A set of causal links connecting 3 psychological process types –> intuition, judgment, and reasoning

Intuitive judgment link –> one’s judgments are driven primarily by the situation

Post-hoc reasoning link –> one’s reasoning is driven primarily by judgment, rather than the other way

Reasoned judgment link –> allows one’s reasoning to directly influence judgment

Private reflection link –> allows one’s reasoning to influence judgment by modifying intuitions

Reasoned persuasion link –> A’s reasoning influences B’s judgment by influencing B’s intuition

Social persuasion link –> A’s judgment, in the absence of explicit attempts at reasoning, influences B’s judgment by modifying B’s intuition

Question 25

Moral Foundations Theory (Haidt)

Answer 25

= there are 5 moral foundations on which systems of morality are built

3 Binding Foundations (= group-oriented view of morality):
1. loyalty/betrayal
2. authority/subversion
3. purity/degradation

2 individualizing foundations (= focus on the provision and protection of individual rights):
1. care/harm
2. fairness/cheating

Question 26

Theory of Moral Judgment (Kohlberg)

Answer 26

Preconventional moral reasoning (= self-centered)
–> morality is determined by authority and punishments

Conventional moral reasoning (= centered on social relationships)
–> morality is determined by rules in the situation and needs and reciprocity

Postconventional moral reasoning (= centered on ideals/moral principle –> abstract thinking)
–> morality is based on universal moral rules

Question 27

Stress influencing moral reasoning

Answer 27

more stress = less likely to make a util choice

females show significantly less util responses than men when exposed to stress factors

stress response is significantly negatively correlated with util responses

Question 28

Eastern Culture moral judgment

Answer 28

Confucianism –> personal ethics and morality

justice and fairness viewed as a matter of equality

describe uncivilized behaviors as ‘immoral’

Question 29

Western Culture moral judgment

Answer 29

deontological ethics

harmful = immoral

justice and fairness are viewed as matters of equality

Question 30

Empathy influencing moral reasoning

Answer 30

can interfere with moral decision-making through group biases

Emotional Component
–> generates motivation to care and help others

Motivational Component
–> integral for maintaining social relationships

Cognitive Component
–> strategy for reducing group biases