Advances in Experimental Moral Psychology

Description

Advances in Experimental Moral Psychology brings together leading scholars in the field to provide fresh theoretical perspectives on research in philosophy and psychology. Reflecting a diverse and active field of study, contributors are drawn from across both subjects to pursue central questions concerning moral psychology. Covering a wide-ranging selection of arguments, issues and debates, topics includes the role of emotion in moral judgment (both at a general theoretical level and with regards to specific topics); the moral psychology behind political orientation; the nature and content of moral character and more higher-order questions concerning the status of morality itself. For philosophers and researchers in the social and behavioral science, this exciting new volume reveals the beneficial results of integrating these two disciplines and illustrates the promise of this experimental approach to moral psychology. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents Notes on Contributors Experimental Moral Psychology: An Introduction Moral persons Moral groundings Measuring morality Conclusion References Part 1 Moral Persons 1 The Character in Competence Person perception and moral character Competence as long-term other-orientation New direction for moral cognition Conclusion Note References 2 Spoken Words Reveal Selfish Motives: An Individual Difference Approach to Moral Motivation Selfish or moral? A paradox Moral hypocrisy Moral is as moral does? Limitations of self-report inventories Objectivity Expedience The revealing nature of the spoken word Motives in stories How to spot a hypocrite: Toward an expedient, objective measure Hypothesis 1: Projected moral motives reveal selfish general tendency Hypothesis 2: Projected moral motives predict moral behavior Conclusion Notes References 3 Is the Glass of Kindness Half Full or Half Empty? Positive and Negative Reactions to Others’ Expressions of Virtue The two sides of human prosociality The half empty glass of kindness: When virtuous others are suspected and derogated A half full glass of kindness: When virtuous others become partners, saints, and heroes Concluding remarks Note References 4 What are the Bearers of Virtues? Virtues as dispositional properties The subjunctive conditional analysis Woulda, coulda, shoulda The psychology of dispositions Asocial situational influences Social influences Revising the metaphysics of virtue Notes References 5 The Moral Behavior of Ethicists and the Power of Reason Part 1: Our empirical studies Missing library books Peer ratings Voting rates Courtesy at philosophy conferences APA free riding Responsiveness to student emails Self-reported attitudes and behavior Self-reported attitude and behavior: Eating meat Self-reported attitude and behavior: Charity Conclusion Part 2: Possible explanations The rational tail view Narrow principles Reasoning might lead one to behave more permissibly but no better Compensation for deficient intuitions Rationally driven moral improvement plus toxic rationalization in equal measure Conclusion Notes References Part 2 Moral Groundings 6 Pollution and Purity in Moral and Political Judgment Disgust and moral judgment: Three claims Why disgust? The behavioral immune system and social attitudes Disease risk and attitudes toward the obese and disabled Disgust and attitudes toward homosexuals Disease risk and attitudes toward foreigners Other sociopolitical attitudes The behavioral immune system and moral judgment Which moral violations elicit disgust? Induced disgust and harsher moral judgment The effects of cleanliness on moraland political judgment Disgusting but permissible actions Conclusion Note References 7 Selective Debunking Arguments, Folk Psychology, and Empirical Moral Psychology Some framing questions Disgust and moral justification The shape of the argument: Selective debunking Conclusion Notes References 8 The Psychological Foundations of Moral Conviction Measurement and operationalization Universalism and objectivism Motivation and behavior Emotion The authority independence hypothesis The nonconformity hypothesis Conclusion Notes References 9 How Different Kinds of Disagreement Impact Folk Metaethical Judgments Study 1 Method Results Discussion Study 2 Method Results Discussion Study 3 Method Results Discussion Study 4 Method Results Discussion Study 5 Method Results Discussion General discussion Notes References 10 Exploring Metaethical Commitments: Moral Objectivity and Moral Progress Recent work on metaethical beliefs Moral objectivity Moral progress Belief in a just world Method Participants Materials and procedure Moral progress and belief in a just world measures Results Individual measures Relationships between metaethical commitment measures General discussion Notes References 11 Agent Versus Appraiser Moral Relativism: An Exploratory Study Moral relativism Agent versus appraiser moral relativism Importance of the agent-appraiser distinction Previous evidence for folk moral relativism Method Participants Materials and design Results Discussion Note References Part 3 Measuring Morality 12 Know Thy Participant: The Trouble with Nomothetic Assumptions in Moral Psychology Operationalizing “Morality” — An introduction to the problem Comparing the two approaches Third-person disadvantage: Poor construct validity Assessing a different construct First-person disadvantage: Complexity and impracticality A combined first- and third-person operationalization Examples of the mixed approach Conclusion Notes References Index