scholarly journals Examining Moral Foundations Theory through Immigration Attitudes

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-30
Author(s):  
Leda Nath ◽  
Nicholas Pedriana ◽  
Christopher Gifford ◽  
James W. McAuley ◽  
Marta Fülöp
Keyword(s):  
Public Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Original Position ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Cultural Attitudes ◽  
Moral Diversity ◽  
Immigration Attitudes ◽  
Political Spectrum

Moral foundations theory (MFT) explains how political and cultural attitudes are shaped significantly by people’s moral intuitions; gut-level judgments about proper human behavior and social relationships. We examine the theory through the topic of immigration attitudes. Social scientists of various stripes have built a comprehensive research program studying public attitudes towards immigrants and immigration policy. Immigration is currently among the most contentious political issues in the United States and Europe—evidenced in part by the election of Donald Trump, the UK’s Brexit vote, and the recent rise of nationalist parties on the continent. Drawing on MFT and using one politically diverse sample and one liberal-leaning sample, we conducted two experiments respectively, to test whether effects of political orientation on US immigration attitudes may be moderated by alternative moral framing of pro-immigration appeals. Data support hypotheses, and is consistent with theoretical claims about moral diversity and political attitudes generally. Also, results shed new light on how shifts in immigration attitudes, that is whether one entrenches further into an original position or is persuaded into a new attitude, depend on one’s place on the political spectrum. Keywords: moral foundations theory, moral foundations, immigration, attitudes, moral intuition, experiment

Moral foundations explain unique variance in political ideology beyond resistance to change and opposition to equality

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1124-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Onurcan Yilmaz ◽  
S. Adil Saribay
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Unique Variance ◽  
The Core ◽  
Relevant Variables

Moral foundations theory (MFT), while inspiring much empirical work, has been the target of both methodological and theoretical criticism. One important criticism of MFT is that, in its attempt to explain variability in political ideology, it only repackages the core motives (resistance to change and opposition to equality) and does not actually provide additional explanatory potential. Indeed, some previous studies show that moral foundations do not explain variability in ideology beyond other relevant variables, and that the relation between moral foundations and political orientation is mediated by other ideological variables. In the present research, we examined whether moral foundations can explain variability beyond the core motives in samples from Turkey and the United States. Contrary to some previous findings, we found that moral foundations explain unique variance in general, social, and economic conservatism. These findings suggest that the moral foundations proposed by MFT cannot be reduced to other variables that have been used in the literature to measure ideological proclivities.

Political Orientations and Morality Judgments in the Turkish Context: Considering the Roles of the Needs for Cognition and Recognition

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329411989990
Author(s):  
Burcu Tekeş ◽  
E. Olcay Imamoğlu ◽  
Fatih Özdemir ◽  
Bengi Öner-Özkan
Keyword(s):  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Group Loyalty ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Collectivistic Culture

The aims of this study were to test: (a) the association of political orientations with morality orientations, specified by moral foundations theory, on a sample of young adults from Turkey, representing a collectivistic culture; and (b) the statistically mediating roles of needs for cognition and recognition in the links between political orientation and morality endorsements. According to the results (a) right-wing orientation and need for recognition were associated with all the three binding foundations (i.e., in-group/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity); (b) right-wing orientation was associated with binding foundations also indirectly via the role of need for recognition; (c) regarding individualizing foundations, left-wing orientation and need for cognition were associated with fairness/reciprocity, whereas only gender was associated with harm/care; and (d) left-wing orientation was associated with fairness dimension also indirectly via the role of need for cognition. The cultural relevance of moral foundations theory as well as the roles of needs for cognition and recognition are discussed.

scholarly journals Ideological Consistency, Political Orientation, and Variability Across Moral Foundations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Pyszczynski ◽  
Pelin Kesebir ◽  
Matt Motyl ◽  
Andrea Yetzer ◽  
Jacqueline M. Anson
Keyword(s):  
Political Orientation ◽  
Gun Control ◽  
The Political ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Relationship

We conceptualized ideological consistency as the extent to which an individual’s attitudes toward diverse political issues are coherent among themselves from an ideological standpoint. Four studies compared the ideological consistency of self-identified liberals and conservatives. Across diverse samples, attitudes, and consistency measures, liberals were more ideologically consistent than conservatives. In other words, conservatives’ individual-level attitudes toward diverse political issues (e.g., abortion, gun control, welfare) were more dispersed across the political spectrum than were liberals’ attitudes. Study 4 demonstrated that variability across commitments to different moral foundations predicted ideological consistency and mediated the relationship between political orientation and ideological consistency.

scholarly journals Does Moral Foundations Theory Reveal that Teens Aren’t Entirely Split on P.C. Culture in Higher Education?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquín M Lara Midkiff
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Attitude Assessment ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
Psychometric Tool ◽  
The Relationship

The rise of Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) as a psychometric tool aimed at formalizing the study of political and moral psychology has led to many empirical studies and surveys over the last fifteen years. This present study documents the relationship between self-reported political identities, Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ)-determined political ideology, and a novel attitude assessment concerning political correctness (PC) in academia among randomly sampled high schoolers at a demographically representative and statistically unremarkable high school in the American Pacific Northwest. Contrary to the emerging consensus in this recent field of MFT psychology, evidence here suggests that teenagers of varying political allegiances may be in general agreement when it concerns a political issue that has predominated headlines in the United States: PC culture (and censorship broadly) found in American universities. Though largely a vindication of antecedent MFT surveys, does this unanticipated alignment indicate a possible acquiescence in the zeitgeist of an up-and-coming generation?

Prejudicial and Welcoming Attitudes toward Syrian Refugees: The Roles of Cultural Humility and Moral Foundations

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E. Captari ◽  
Laura Shannonhouse ◽  
Joshua N. Hook ◽  
Jamie D. Aten ◽  
Edward B. Davis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Commitment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Cultural Humility ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Psychological Burden ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Church And Community ◽  
Prejudice And Discrimination

Debates about immigration policy have sparked increasingly negative attitudes toward refugees, particularly those of Muslim identification. Research to date has found that post-immigration prejudice and discrimination, often reinforced at a systemic level, pose an additional psychological burden to refugees. The present study explored associations between cultural humility, moral foundations, political orientation, religious commitment, and xenophobia toward Syrian refugees. Data were collected from adults ( N = 996) in the United States during the 2016 presidential election cycle. Cultural humility was positively correlated with openness to immigration and moral foundations of care and fairness, and inversely related to prejudicial attitudes, perceived real and symbolic threat, and moral foundations of loyalty, authority, and purity. Over and above political identification and religiosity, cultural humility was found to be uniquely associated with more positive attitudes toward Syrian refugees. Additionally, the relationship between the moral foundations of care and fairness and positive attitudes toward refugees was mediated by cultural humility. Findings are discussed in light of the biblical mandate within Christianity to welcome foreigners and advocate for the vulnerable, while balancing compassion with wisdom. In addition to approaching psychological care with refugees through the lens of cultural humility, psychologists have a unique opportunity to advocate for this population through systems-level intervention. We discuss ways to cultivate the moral foundations of care and fairness at church and community levels, which may facilitate greater cultural humility.

scholarly journals USSR and Zanzibar in the Years of Its Struggle for Independence and Unification with Tanganyika (Based on Archival Sources)

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-66
Author(s):  
Alexander Stepanovich Balezin
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
State Archive ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Political Act ◽  
Political Spectrum

Based on documents from the Russian archives - the Archive of foreign policy of the Russian Federation, the State archive of the Russian Federation, and the Russian state archive of modern history, the article examines the relations of the USSR with Zanzibar in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Soviet-Zanzibar relations are examined against the background of a complex period in the history of the island state, which included the stages of inter-party rivalry during the struggle for independence, the Zanzibar revolution itself, and the unification with Tanganyika. The author also draws attention to the ethnic composition of the Zanzibar population in the years before the start of the national liberation movement, the history of the origin of ethnic groups in the archipelago and their traditional relationships. The author examines in detail the composition and political orientation of the parties that took part in the struggle for independence. He also considers the influence of the political spectrum and the international situation of the Cold War period on the decisions of national leaders in choosing a support side for further development. The author also considers actions of two leading actors of the bipolar system, the USSR and the USA, in the struggle for influence on the young national elites of Zanzibar in particular, and then Tanzania as a whole. The author conducts a detailed analysis of the United States actions and its allies to intervene the party struggle within Zanzibar society and the further reaction of the USSR to these steps. He also considers the reasons for the decline in Soviet influence on Zanzibar and the events that led to the closure of the Soviet diplomatic missions. The author points out the ambiguity of Zanzibar and Tanganyika’s unification, which could be perceived as an artificial political act supported by interested global forces than the process of voluntary unification of the two young countries. A number of issues are considered almost for the first time in Russian historiography.

scholarly journals Moralsk mangfold, oppvekst og livstolkning – et evolusjonspsykologisk perspektiv

2020 ◽  
pp. 121-142
Author(s):  
Dag Norheim
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School System ◽  
Shared Value ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Multicultural Society ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
Moral Diversity ◽  
Moral Socialization ◽  
The Subject

In this article, I discuss the challenges of moral diversity in Norwegian public school from the perspective of Jonathan Haidt’s moral foundations theory. I take my cue from Haidt’s distinction between individualistic and sociocentric societies and discuss some implications of this distinction with regard to the introduction of the new curriculum (fagfornyelsen, in Norwegian). I argue that the subject curriculum is rooted in a morality that is characteristic of what Haidt refers to as WEIRD societies (i.e. Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rational, Democracies). My thesis is that this moral matrix rests on cultural assumptions that differ substantially from those of immigrant pupils in Norwegian schools. The particularities of sociocentric moral matrices seem to fall in the blind zone of the subject curriculum. Yet it is important that the school system acknowledge its role in the creation of a community to which every pupil might experience an allegiance. In order to create a shared value foundation, teachers need to be aware of pupils’ affiliations to different moral matrices. Thus, we need to rethink what moral socialization means in a multicultural society.

When and Why Do Liberals and Conservatives Think Alike?

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 360-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad Baldner ◽  
Antonio Pierro ◽  
Marina Chernikova ◽  
Arie W. Kruglanski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Epistemic Goals ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. Research on moral foundations theory has found that liberals typically favor the individualizing foundations (i.e., concern for the individual) but typically oppose the binding foundations (i.e., concern for the group). We propose that need for cognitive closure (NFC) can explain when liberals will favor the binding foundations. In two studies, we found that liberals in Italy and the United States were more likely to endorse the binding foundations when they had high NFC. Overall, these results suggest that researchers should strive to understand the interaction between individuals’ epistemic goals and their political orientations in order to accurately predict how they will perceive political issues.

scholarly journals Intercultural Struggle and the Targeting of Noncombatants: The Case of the Islamic State

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Ross Moret ◽  
Simone Burgin
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Cultural Cognition ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Military Ethics

The prohibition against targeting noncombatants is a long-held commitment in both Muslim and Western military ethics. Nevertheless, some militant Muslim groups, and particularly the Islamic State, have created ever-widening space for attacking those traditionally considered immune from targeting in military operations. Our essay uses two theoretical apparatuses developed in social psychology—cultural cognition and moral foundations theory—to explain how certain aspects of post-9/11 tactics on the part of the United States and its allies have contributed to this phenomenon. We also use these same tools to show that similar dynamics work to contribute to the rightwing backlash against Muslims in the United States.

Animals and the Expanding Moral Circle

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.J. Kasperbauer
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Concern ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Attitudes Toward Animals ◽  
Moral Attitudes

This chapter considers the hypothesis that our treatment of animals is best accounted for by an “expanding moral circle.” This hypothesis is examined by looking at changes in attitudes to animals historically and across cultures. Different conceptions and formulations of this hypothesis are considered, in order to achieve greater clarity on the potential implications for animals. Evidence is reviewed concerning legal protections for animals, the use of animals for food and laboratory experiments, and public attitudes toward animals. Research on moral foundations theory is used to explain certain obstacles to expanding moral concern for animals. Ultimately the chapter concludes that the expanding moral circle does not satisfactorily explain human moral attitudes to animals.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document