Moral foundations, worldviews, moral absolutism and belief in conspiracy theories

Luigi Leone; Mauro Giacomantonio; Marco Lauriola

doi:10.1002/ijop.12459

Not so conservative: Suppression effects between social and economic ideology on moral foundations and moral absolutism

International Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1002/ijop.12817 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Diego Avendaño ◽

Andrés Duarte ◽

Anderson Pallares

Keyword(s):

Moral Foundations ◽

Economic Ideology ◽

Moral Absolutism ◽

Suppression Effects

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The Mediating Role of Moral Absolutism Between the “Binding Moral Foundations” and Sexist Attitudes: A Path That May Lead to Intimate Partner Violence

Violence Against Women ◽

10.1177/10778012211038974 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107780122110389

Author(s):

María L. Vecina ◽

José C. Chacón ◽

Raul Piñuela

Keyword(s):

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Moral Foundations ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Sexist Attitudes ◽

Adaptive Mechanisms ◽

Court Mandated ◽

Definition Of ◽

Moral Absolutism

The binding foundations (loyalty, authority, and purity) constitute adaptive mechanisms for preserving groups’ interests. However, they have also been related to intergroup prejudice and violence. We show that the known relationship between the binding foundations and sexist attitudes is mediated by moral absolutism, a variable that reflects the degree to which people believe that their own definition of morality is objectively correct. Two different samples are used: a conventional one (Study 1, N = 321), and a forensic one at the beginning ( T1) and at the end ( T2) of court-mandated psychological therapy (Study 2, N = 354; N = 327).

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The Morality of Men Convicted of Domestic Violence: How It Supports the Maintenance of the Moral Self-Concept

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-15-00143 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 1155-1170 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Daniela Marzana ◽

María L. Vecina ◽

Sara Alfieri

Keyword(s):

Domestic Violence ◽

Psychological Treatment ◽

Point Of View ◽

Self Report ◽

Self Concept ◽

Moral Foundations ◽

Moral Self ◽

The Family ◽

Court Mandated ◽

Moral Absolutism

The phenomenon of abuse toward women is a prevalent social problem in most societies. In the present work, we take into consideration the abusive man’s point of view with particular reference to the sphere of their morality and set as aims: (a) to show that high levels of self-deception are mediating between an extreme moral worldview, called moral absolutism, and a functional high moral self-concept, (b) to analyze the relation of the five moral foundations (Harm, Fairness, Ingroup, Authority, and Purity) with this moral absolutism, and (c) to test a comprehensive model of the relationships between the individuated variables in the preceding hypotheses.Participants are 264 men convicted of domestic violence offenses, who, having begun court-mandated psychological treatment lasting 12 weeks, have filled out a self-report questionnaire during the second meeting.The results reveal that (a) self-deception is as a full mediator between moral absolutism and moral self-concept in men convicted of domestic violence and in such a way that the more they felt right about their moral beliefs, the more they deceived themselves, and the more they felt good about themselves, (b) the moral foundations could be explaining moral absolutism understood as a rigid moral vision of the world, and (c) the tested model produces satisfying fit indices.Finally, we discuss the applied implications, for example, a key role can be played by the family and the school: Moral socialization begins within the family and there finds the first push that will accompany it the rest of life.

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Moral Dichotomization at the Heart of Prejudice: The Role of Moral Foundations and Intolerance of Ambiguity in Generalized Prejudice

Social Psychological and Personality Science ◽

10.1177/1948550618817347 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 1002-1010 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Erik Forsberg ◽

Artur Nilsson ◽

Øyvind Jørgensen

Keyword(s):

Moral Foundations ◽

Moral Intuitions ◽

Direct Association ◽

Swedish Sample ◽

Moral Absolutism ◽

Recent Idea ◽

Intolerance Of Ambiguity

This study confronted the classical idea that generalized prejudice is rooted in a cognitive tendency to sort reality into rigid and simple categories with the more recent idea that prejudice is shaped by moral intuitions. In a diverse Swedish sample ( N = 430), moral absolutism was more strongly associated with generalized prejudice against derogated and dissident (but not dangerous) groups than were other aspects of intolerance of ambiguity. But there was little direct association between any aspect of intolerance of ambiguity and generalized prejudice once indirect relations through binding moral intuitions (which elevated prejudice) and individualizing moral intuitions (which decreased prejudice) had been taken into account. These findings suggest that intolerance of ambiguity is associated with generalized prejudice mainly insofar as it leads to a distinctly moral dichotomization of persons into categories such as insiders and outsiders, law-abiding citizens and deviants, and the righteous and the impure.

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Socio-Psychological Predictors of Belief in Conspiracy Theories of the Origin of COVID-19 and Involvement in Social Media

Social Psychology and Society ◽

10.17759/sps.2020110407 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 87-104

Author(s):

T.A. Nestik ◽

O.S. Deyneka ◽

А.А. Maksimenko

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Social Trust ◽

Social Institutions ◽

Moral Foundations ◽

Conspiracy Theories ◽

Media Study ◽

Conspiracy Beliefs ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

The Individual ◽

The Impact

Objective. Search for socio-psychological antecedents for the individual’s belief in conspiracy theories of the origin of the pandemic. Revealing the dynamics of Internet users’ attitudes to the coronavirus pandemic in March-early June 2020. Background. As part of the study of the psychological mechanisms of the impact of the pandemic on the individual and society, an increasingly urgent task is to clarify the socio-psychological prerequisites of belief in conspiracy theories of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the relationship between attitudes towards the pandemic and the involvement of the individual in the use of social media. Study design. The paper presents the results of two online surveys conducted in March-April and May-June 2020 to study the dynamics of Russians’ belief in conspiracy theories of the origin of the COVID-19, taking into account involvement in social media and gender differences. Participants. The first study involved 668 people (78.2% women) aged 17 to 80 years (M=30; SD=12.7); the second survey involved 986 people (56.9% — men) aged 18 to 76 years (M=36.63; SD=10.2). The survey geography covered various regions of Russia. Measurements. The basic tool in both studies was developed by T.A. Nestik questionnaire “Attitude towards the epidemiological threat”. The first study additionally measured the social axioms (SAS), moral foundations (MFQ), belief in the justice of the world and trust in social institutions. The second study additionally measured involvement in social media communications. Results. The 1st study found a connection between conspiracy beliefs and belief in a just world, low self-efficacy, moral foundations of ingroup/loyalty and authority/respect, low institutional trust, and social cynicism. In the 2nd study, it was shown that, compared to March-April, the level of belief of social media users in conspiracy theories of the origin of the pandemic, the severity of distrust in the health care system and skepticism about vaccinations significantly increased; both the fear of infection and the controllability of the threat have become less, but fears of a recurrence of epidemics have increased. It is shown that involvement in social media increases anxiety about the consequences of the coronavirus crisis, which in turn intensifies the search for conspiracy explanations of pandemic. Conclusions. Low social trust and the experience of an uncontrollable threat increase the susceptibility of social media users to belief in conspiracy theories of the origin of the pandemic.

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