scholarly journals Can moral convictions against gender inequality overpower system justification effects? Examining the interaction between moral conviction and system justification

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria De Cristofaro ◽  
Valerio Pellegrini ◽  
Mauro Giacomantonio ◽  
Stefano Livi ◽  
Martijn Zomeren
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Moral Convictions

The Psychology of Moral Conviction

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 347-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda J. Skitka ◽  
Brittany E. Hanson ◽  
G. Scott Morgan ◽  
Daniel C. Wisneski
Keyword(s):  
Peer Influence ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Domain Theory ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Attitude Object ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Fundamental Distinction ◽  
Moral Convictions

This review covers theory and research on the psychological characteristics and consequences of attitudes that are experienced as moral convictions, that is, attitudes that people perceive as grounded in a fundamental distinction between right and wrong. Morally convicted attitudes represent something psychologically distinct from other constructs (e.g., strong but nonmoral attitudes or religious beliefs), are perceived as universally and objectively true, and are comparatively immune to authority or peer influence. Variance in moral conviction also predicts important social and political consequences. Stronger moral conviction about a given attitude object, for example, is associated with greater intolerance of attitude dissimilarity, resistance to procedural solutions for conflict about that issue, and increased political engagement and volunteerism in that attitude domain. Finally, we review recent research that explores the processes that lead to attitude moralization; we integrate these efforts and conclude with a new domain theory of attitude moralization.

scholarly journals The politicized motivations of volunteers in the refugee crisis: Intergroup helping as the means to achieve social change

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 260-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kende ◽  
Nóra Anna Lantos ◽  
Anna Belinszky ◽  
Sára Csaba ◽  
Zsófia Anna Lukács
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Political Protest ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Political Protests ◽  
Political Actions ◽  
Moral Convictions

The refugee crisis in the summer of 2015 mobilized thousands of volunteers in Hungary to help refugees on their journey through Europe despite the government’s hostile stance. We conducted a survey (N = 1459) among people who were active in supporting refugees and providing services to them to test the hypothesis of whether volunteers in the context of this humanitarian crisis had social change motivations similar to those engaged in direct political activism. Hierarchical regression analysis and mediation analysis revealed the importance of opinion-based identity and moral convictions as predictors of volunteerism, while efficacy beliefs and anger only predicted political activism. Our findings suggest that volunteers engaged in helping refugees based on motivations previously described as drivers of mobilization for political activism, but chose volunteerism to alleviate the problems embedded in the intergroup situation. Although the context of the refugee crisis in Hungary may have been somewhat unique, these findings have implications for other asymmetrical politicized intergroup relations in which advantaged group members can choose to offer humanitarian aid, engage in political actions to change the situation, or do both. Background The refugee crisis in the summer of 2015 mobilized thousands of volunteers in Hungary to help refugees on their journey through Europe. Because of the Hungarian government’s explicitly hostile stance toward refugees, offering volunteer help was treated as an expression of political dissent by authorities. Why was this study done? We investigated the motivations of volunteers within this political climate. The psychological motivations to engage in political protest and volunteerism can be distinguished based on previous research. Volunteerism is the intentional engagement in helping for the benefit of others; it can be long term or flare up in moments of crisis, but it does not necessarily entail intentions to bring about change. In contrast, engagement in political protest is motivated by peoples’ intentions to address injustice and achieve change. As the refugee crisis evoked both types of actions (volunteerism and political protests), it provided us with the opportunity to investigate whether volunteering was driven by (1) motivation to bring about social change, (2) identification with the pro-refugee movement, and (3) experiencing a violation to their moral principles, all of which are typical for political activists. What did the researchers do and find? We conducted a survey among people who were active in supporting refugees, or participated in political protests. 1459 participants completed our online survey. We measured their level of moral conviction, identification with the pro-refugee opinion group, anger about the situation, and belief in their group’s efficacy to achieve change. Our results showed that identification with the pro-refugee movement and moral conviction were important motivations primarily for volunteers, while belief in the efficacy of the movement and anger were more closely related to engagement in political activism. What do these findings mean? We therefore suggest that activities of pro-refugee volunteers became the means to express moral convictions and a desire for social change. We used the case of the refugee crisis to draw attention to the importance of understanding the similarities and differences in the paths toward volunteerism and political activism, in terms of peoples’ motivation to achieve change, as social movements are just as dependent on mobilizing allies for political actions as they are on mobilizing volunteers.

Gut Reactions

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1059-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Wisneski ◽  
Brad L. Lytle ◽  
Linda J. Skitka
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Right ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Moral Convictions

Theory and research point to different ways moral conviction and religiosity connect to trust in political authorities to decide controversial issues of the day. Specifically, we predicted that stronger moral convictions would be associated with greater distrust in authorities such as the U.S. Supreme Court making the “right” decisions regarding controversial issues. Conversely, we predicted that stronger religiosity would be associated with greater trust in authorities. We tested these hypotheses using a survey of a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 727) that assessed the degree to which people trusted the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the legal status of physician-assisted suicide. Results indicated that greater religiosity was associated with greater trust in the U.S. Supreme Court to decide this issue, and that stronger moral convictions about physician-assisted suicide were associated with greater distrust in the U.S. Supreme Court to decide this issue. Also, the processes underlying religious trust and distrust based on moral convictions were more quick and visceral than slow and carefully considered.

The Moral Roots of Partisan Division: How Moral Conviction Heightens Affective Polarization

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 621-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin N. Garrett ◽  
Alexa Bankert
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Partisan Bias ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Moral Convictions

Partisan bias and hostility have increased substantially over the last few decades in the American electorate, and previous work shows that partisan strength and sorting help drive this trend. Drawing on insights from moral psychology, however, we posit that partisan moral convictions heighten affective polarization beyond the effects of partisanship, increasing partisan animosity and copartisan favoritism. Testing this theory using data from two national samples and novel measures of affective polarization in everyday life, we find that people who tend to moralize politics display more partisan bias, distance and hostility, irrespective of partisan strength. These results shed light on a different moral divide that separates the American public and raise key normative questions about moral conviction and electoral politics.

scholarly journals The Dark Side of Morality – Neural Mechanisms Underpinning Moral Convictions and Support for Violence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford Ian Workman ◽  
Keith J Yoder ◽  
Jean Decety
Keyword(s):  
Ventral Striatum ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Subjective Value ◽  
Analytical Strategies ◽  
Shared Social Values ◽  
Moral Convictions ◽  
Sociopolitical Issues

People are motivated by shared social values that, when held with moral conviction, can serve as compelling mandates capable of facilitating support for ideological violence. The current study examined this dark side of morality by identifying specific cognitive and neural mechanisms associated with beliefs about the appropriateness of sociopolitical violence, and determining the extent to which the engagement of these mechanisms was predicted by moral convictions. Participants reported their moral convictions about a variety of sociopolitical issues prior to undergoing functional MRI scanning. During scanning, they were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of violent protests that were ostensibly congruent or incongruent with their views about sociopolitical issues. Complementary univariate and multivariate analytical strategies comparing neural responses to congruent and incongruent violence identified neural mechanisms implicated in processing salience and in the encoding of subjective value. As predicted, neuro-hemodynamic response was modulated parametrically by individuals’ beliefs about the appropriateness of congruent relative to incongruent sociopolitical violence in ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and by moral conviction in ventral striatum. Overall moral conviction was predicted by neural response to congruent relative to incongruent violence in amygdala. Together, these findings indicate that moral conviction about sociopolitical issues serves to increase their subjective value, overriding natural aversion to interpersonal harm.

scholarly journals Promoting or opposing social change: Political orientations, moral convictions and protest intentions

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 671-688
Author(s):  
Stefano Passini
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
The Political ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Moral Conviction ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
The Status ◽  
Moral Convictions

The issue of the motivations behind the decision as to whether or not to join protest actions has been investigated by many scholars. In particular, recent studies have considered violations of one’s own moral convictions and identification with the protest group as the main predictors of collective actions. The present research will focus on the three orientations to the political system identified by Kelman and Hamilton (1989), which consider distinct reasons behind the attachment to the political system and explain the motivations behind supporting or opposing the institutions. The aim is to examine whether these three orientations have an effect on collective action (through moral convictions, politicized identification, anger, and efficacy) considering social protests both against and in favor of the status quo. Specifically, the political orientations should explain why individuals hold a given attitude (positive or negative) towards a policy position, hold it with moral conviction, and decide to join a protest action. The results of three studies confirm the relevance of considering political orientations. Depending on the aim of the protest, each political orientation has a distinct effect on collective action.

Do Women Need to Have Children in Order to Be Fulfilled? A System Justification Account of the Motherhood Norm

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 999-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Suppes
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
System Justification ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Folk Belief ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
The Impact

There is a widely held folk belief that a woman needs to have children in order to live a fulfilled life. This article tests whether or not endorsing this folk belief—or the motherhood norm—has an impact on subjective well-being. With data from 49 countries, Study 1 shows that those who endorsed the motherhood norm experienced greater subjective well-being than those who did not, an effect that was especially true in countries with high gender inequality. Study 2 establishes that this norm exaggerates the impact of motherhood on subjective well-being. After accounting for the situation of women’s lives, motherhood status did not explain differences in self-reported life satisfaction, and mothers reported only slightly greater happiness than women who were not mothers. These findings support a series of preregistered hypotheses designed to test the palliative function of endorsing system-justifying norms, though these data may be consistent with other theories.

Legalizing Gender Inequality

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Nelson ◽  
William P. Bridges
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality
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