scholarly journals Interindividual Differences in the Sensitivity for Consequences, Moral Norms, and Preferences for Inaction: Relating Basic Personality Traits to the CNI Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 1013-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meike Kroneisen ◽  
Daniel W. Heck
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Multinomial Model ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
General Preference ◽  
High Emotionality ◽  
Measure Sensitivity

Research on moral decision making usually focuses on two ethical principles: the principle of utilitarianism (= morality of an action is determined by its consequences) and the principle of deontology (= morality of an action is valued according to the adherence to moral norms regardless of the consequences). Criticism on traditional moral dilemma research includes the reproach that consequences and norms are confounded in standard paradigms. As a remedy, a multinomial model (the CNI model) was developed to disentangle and measure sensitivity to consequences ( C), sensitivity to moral norms ( N), and general preference for inaction versus action ( I). In two studies, we examined the link of basic personality traits to moral judgments by fitting a hierarchical Bayesian version of the CNI model. As predicted, high Honesty–Humility was selectively associated with sensitivity for norms, whereas high Emotionality was selectively associated with sensitivity for consequences. However, Conscientiousness was not associated with a preference for inaction.

Psychopathy and Moral-Dilemma Judgment: An Analysis Using the Four-Factor Model of Psychopathy and the CNI Model of Moral Decision-Making

2021 ◽  
pp. 216770262110438
Author(s):  
Dillon M. Luke ◽  
Craig S. Neumann ◽  
Bertram Gawronski
Keyword(s):  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Decision ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Major Question ◽  
General Preference ◽  
Greater Good

A major question in clinical and moral psychology concerns the nature of the commonly presumed association between psychopathy and moral judgment. In the current preregistered study ( N = 443), we aimed to address this question by examining the relation between psychopathy and responses to moral dilemmas pitting consequences for the greater good against adherence to moral norms. To provide more nuanced insights, we measured four distinct facets of psychopathy and used the CNI model to quantify sensitivity to consequences ( C), sensitivity to moral norms ( N), and general preference for inaction over action ( I) in responses to moral dilemmas. Psychopathy was associated with a weaker sensitivity to moral norms, which showed unique links to the interpersonal and affective facets of psychopathy. Psychopathy did not show reliable associations with either sensitivity to consequences or general preference for inaction over action. Implications of these findings for clinical and moral psychology are discussed.

scholarly journals Using the CNI Model to Investigate Individual Differences in Moral Dilemma Judgments

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 1392-1407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Körner ◽  
Roland Deutsch ◽  
Bertram Gawronski
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Behavioral Activation ◽  
Moral Identity ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
General Preference

Typical moral dilemmas pitting the consequences of a given action against the action’s consistency with moral norms confound several determinants of moral judgments. Dissociating these determinants, the CNI model allows researchers to quantify sensitivity to consequences, sensitivity to norms, and general preference for inaction over action regardless of consequences and norms. However, with the currently available set of dilemmas for research using the CNI model, the model is not suitable for studies with individual-difference designs. To overcome this limitation, the current research investigated the suitability of an extended dilemma battery to make the CNI model amenable for individual-difference research, examining relations of its parameters with psychopathy, empathic concern, need for cognition, self-reported utilitarianism, behavioral activation/inhibition, moral identity, and religiosity. The results support the suitability of the CNI model for individual-difference research with the extended dilemma battery, providing more nuanced insights into the underpinnings of individual differences in moral dilemma judgments.

Temporal Stability of Moral Dilemma Judgments: A Longitudinal Analysis Using the CNI Model

2021 ◽  
pp. 014616722110350
Author(s):  
Dillon M. Luke ◽  
Bertram Gawronski
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
General Preference

Although moral dilemma judgments are influenced by a variety of situational factors, there is evidence for considerable disagreement between individuals. Using the CNI model to disentangle (a) sensitivity to consequences, (b) sensitivity to moral norms, and (c) general preference for inaction versus action in responses to moral dilemmas, the current research examined the temporal stability of individual differences along the three dimensions. Across two time points 1 month apart, sensitivity to consequences ( r = .81) and sensitivity to norms ( r = .84) showed high levels of stability that were comparable to the Big Five personality traits; general preference for inaction versus action showed lower stability ( r = .41). Exploratory analyses revealed reliable associations between the three dimensions of moral dilemma judgments and three of the Big Five (extraversion, agreeableness, openness). Together, these findings provide evidence for stable individual differences in moral dilemma judgments that are related to basic personality traits.

scholarly journals When the killing has been done: Influences of personality on third-party judgment and punishment of homicides in moral dilemma scenarios

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Behnke ◽  
Anja Strobel ◽  
Diana Armbruster
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Moral Decision ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
Understanding Emotions ◽  
Complex Scenario ◽  
Sense Of Justice

Killing people is universally considered reprehensible and evokes in observers a need to punish perpetrators. To investigate how observers’ personality influences their cognitive, emotional, and punishing reactions towards perpetrators, we analyzed data from 1,004 participants who responded to three scenarios describing deliberate killings from a third-party perspective. Utilitarian motive of killing and inevitability of harm varied systematically between scenarios. Participants’ moral appropriateness judgments, emotions towards perpetrators, and assigned punishments revealed complex scenario-personality interactions. Trait psychopathy led to more understanding emotions but harsher punishments in all scenarios. Regarding utilitarian killings, need for cognition led to milder punishments, whereas intuitive/authority-obedient thinking led to stronger negative emotions and harsher punishments. Other-oriented empathy, trait anxiety, and justice sensitivity did not account for differences in third-party punishments. Our findings highlight the importance of interindividual differences on moral decision making and sense of justice.

scholarly journals Adolescent Concepts of Responsibility in Different Types of Moral Dilemmas

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Molchanov ◽  
O.V. Almazova
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Relationship

The paper presents results of an empirical study of adolescents' concepts of responsibility in different types of moral dilemmas characterized by violations of moral norms. The study proved that the type of moral dilemma and the context of interaction of its participants determine the adolescents' readiness to recognize the responsibility of the main character of the dilemma for violating the norm. In dilemmas of asocial type adolescents are more willing to recognize the responsibility of the offender whose behavior leads to obvious damage for one of the participants in the interaction. As for prosocial dilemmas and dilemmas of confronting norms, adolescents tend to deny the responsibility of the offender. The paper provides a comparative analysis of empirically identified types of adolescent concepts of responsibility, including the differentiated responsibility with egoistic orientation, high responsibility, low responsibility and ‘polar’ responsibility. The authors highlight the ambiguity of the relationship between adolescents’ evaluation of behavior, their readiness to recognize responsibility in moral transgression, and their judgment about the necessity of punishment. The paper concludes with the discussion concerning the relationship between the level of development of moral judgments/moral reasoning and the concepts of responsibility in adolescents.

scholarly journals Do High Psychopaths Care More about Moral Consequences than Low Psychopaths in Chinese Culture? An Exploration Using the CNI Model

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 505
Author(s):  
Shenglan Li ◽  
Daoqun Ding ◽  
Zhihui Wu ◽  
Liangliang Yi ◽  
Ji Lai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Action Model ◽  
Psychological Mechanism ◽  
General Preference ◽  
Chinese Subjects

Purpose: Fewer studies are about the influence of psychopath traits on moral judgment and the underlying psychological mechanism in Chinese cultural background. In this paper, we use the creative CNI (Consequences, Norms, Inaction versus action) model to quantify the subject’s reaction to moral dilemmas. Method: In this research, the Chinese version of the Levenson Psychopathic Scale, CNI model materials, and a multinomial model to further analyze the associations among the psychopathy characteristics and utilitarian moral judgment are applied. The CNI model is proposed by Gawronski et al., which can quantify the subjects’ sensitivity to moral consequence, sensitivity to moral norms, and the general preference for inaction or action in moral dilemmas. Result: This study finds that there were significant differences in the utilitarian moral judgment between the groups, t (360) = 3.24, p = 0.001, and Cohen’s d = 0.36. The analysis results of the CNI model show that the high psychopathy group on the N parameter was significantly lower than the group of low psychopathy, ΔG2 (2) = 79.70, p = 0.001. In terms of the C parameter, we found no significant distinctions between the two groups, ΔG2 (2) = 1.356, p = 0.244. For the I parameter, the two groups also have no significant differences, ΔG2 (2) = 0.093, p = 0.76. Conclusion: Persons with high psychopathy traits prefer to make more utilitarian moral judgments and have a weak sensitivity to moral norms (N). The sensitivity to consequences (C) of the two groups is no significant difference. The general preference for inaction versus action (I) also has no significant differences between those two groups. Moreover, the CNI model fits well in Chinese subjects.

Political Ideology and Moral Dilemma Judgments: An Analysis Using the CNI Model

2021 ◽  
pp. 014616722098799
Author(s):  
Dillon M. Luke ◽  
Bertram Gawronski
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
General Action ◽  
General Preference ◽  
Greater Good

Many real-world dilemmas involve disagreement about whether decisions should follow moral norms in an unconditional manner ( deontology) or be based on the consequences for the greater good ( utilitarianism). To examine how political ideology may account for some of these disagreements, the current research used a formal modeling approach to investigate the associations between political ideology and (a) sensitivity to consequences, (b) sensitivity to moral norms, and (c) general preference for inaction versus action in responses to moral dilemmas. Across three studies ( N = 996) with samples from the United States (Studies 1 and 3) and the United Kingdom (Study 2), conservatives were less influenced by overall consequences for the greater good in comparison with liberals. Political ideology was not significantly associated with sensitivity to moral norms and general action tendencies. The findings provide more nuanced insights into how political ideology may contribute to disagreements on real-world moral dilemmas.

scholarly journals Does foreign language alter moral judgments? No evidence from two pre-registered studies with the CNI-model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Nadarevic ◽  
Lena Klein ◽  
Janna Dierolf
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Multinomial Model ◽  
Language Effects ◽  
General Preference ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Context Specific

Recent studies suggest that processing moral dilemmas in a foreign language instead of the native language increases the likelihood of moral judgments in line with the utilitarian principle. The goal of our research was to investigate the replicability and robustness of this moral foreign-language effect and to explore its underlying mechanisms by means of the CNI model—a multinomial model that allows to estimate the extent to which moral judgments are driven by people’s sensitivity to consequences (C-parameter), their sensitivity to norms (N-parameter), and their general preference for action or inaction (I-parameter). In two pre-registered studies, German participants provided moral judgments to dilemmas that were either presented in German or English. In Experiment 1, participants judged eight different dilemmas in four versions each (i.e., 32 dilemmas in total). In Experiment 2, participants judged four different dilemmas in one of the four versions (i.e., 4 dilemmas in total). Neither of the two studies replicated the moral foreign-language effect. Moreover, we also did not find reliable language effects on the three parameters of the CNI-model. We conclude that if there is a moral foreign-language effect, it must be very fragile and context specific.

scholarly journals Androgenic Morality? Associations of sex, oral contraceptive use and basal testosterone levels with moral decision making

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Armbruster ◽  
Clemens Kirschbaum ◽  
Alexander Strobel
Keyword(s):  
Oral Contraceptive ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Moral Dilemma ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Salivary Testosterone ◽  
Oral Contraceptive Use ◽  
Moral Choices

Since previous studies have reported stronger utilitarian tendencies in men, the relationship between testosterone and moral judgments has gained interest. Utilitarian judgements focus on the consequences of actions in terms of a cost-benefit analysis while deontological judgements are based on rules that are independent of an action’s outcome or of situational features. We investigated decisions in moral dilemma situations in N = 157 young adults using a process dissociation approach to allow an independent estimate of underlying utilitarianism and deontology. Significant effects of sex (p = .009) and use of oral contraceptives (p = .011) on utilitarianism were found with the highest levels in men and the lowest in free cycling women while oral contraceptive users fell in between. Furthermore, there were correlations of salivary testosterone with utilitarianism in free cycling women (r = .303) and with deontology in men (r = -.263) while no significant associations between testosterone and moral choices were found in oral contraceptive users. The findings underscore the role of testosterone in moral judgements but also point to specific associations depending on sex and oral contraceptive use.

Framing Morality: How Antecedent-Focused Strategies Can Shape Moral Judgments

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Kappes ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Moral Decision ◽  
Process Dissociation ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
First Response ◽  
High Conflict

From moral philosophy to programming driverless cars, scholars have long been interested in how to shape moral decision-making. We examine how framing can impact moral judgments either by shaping which emotional reactions are evoked in a situation (antecedent-focused) or by changing how people respond to their emotional reactions (response-focused). In three experiments, we manipulated the framing of a moral decision-making task before participants judged a series of moral dilemmas. Participants encouraged to go “with their first” response beforehand favored emotion-driven judgments on high-conflict moral dilemmas. In contrast, participants who were instructed to give a “thoughtful” response beforehand or who did not receive instructions on how to approach the dilemmas favored reason-driven judgments. There was no difference in response-focused control during moral judgements. Process-dissociation confirmed that people instructed to go with their first response had stronger emotion-driven intuitions than other conditions. Our results suggest that task framing can alter moral intuitions.

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