Republican Romans

This article considers how the Roman Republic could function as a site of decadence for both ancient writers and later critics. While Imperial Rome and its colorful emperors frequently appear in fin-de-siècle literature and artwork, the Roman Republic was also home to a host of morally ambiguous characters. The early Republic is perhaps better known for its heroes—Brutus, Horatius, Cloelia, or Mucius—but even within the characterizations of these seemingly virtuous Romans there is room for accusations of lateness, inadequacy, and decline. The hallmarks of decadence can be found in the long history of Rome, from its foundation through to its “fall” in the West. As such, the moral and material stagnation that is so familiar from decadent references to Imperial Rome can be usefully understood as a result of the decline that was always present in the state and appears even in the biographies of its most illustrious citizens.

The Gordian Knot of Disposition Theory

Morally ambiguous characters are often perceived to challenge Zillmann’s affective disposition theory of drama. At the heart of this challenge is the question: “To what extent can liking be independent of character morality?” The current study examines this question with a 2 (Disposition: Positive vs. Negative) × 3 (Character Type: Hero, Antihero, Villain) between-subjects factorial experiment that induces variance in liking and morality. We assess the influence of these orthogonal manipulations on measured liking and morality. Main effects of both manipulations on the measured variables emerged, with a significant correlation between measures. Regression analyses further confirm that liking is associated with perceived morality and vice versa. Because variance in morality was induced by the liking manipulation and variance in liking was induced by the morality manipulation, the assumptions of disposition theory regarding morality and liking seem accurate. Future research directions are provided that may help reconcile and integrate the seeming challenge of morally ambiguous characters with affective disposition theory.

Detecting the Boundaries of Disposition Bias on Moral Judgments of Media Characters’ Behaviors using Social Judgment Theory

eople continuously morally judge the behaviors of media characters. This informs people’s dispositions toward characters. Their dispositions bias their subsequent moral judgments of behavior. Affective disposition theory (ADT) contends that limits to disposition bias exist, but empirical evidence is absent. Three experiments tested the utility of using the ordered alternatives procedure (OAP) from social judgment theory to observe character disposition bias boundaries. Studies 1 and 2 explored and refined methods for detecting the bounds of disposition biases on moral judgments. Study 3 observed the boundaries using preregistered hypotheses, analyses, and sampling. Findings reveal the pragmatic nature of disposition bias, indicating a dependency on the magnitude of moral violation. This outcome interacted with role (average person vs. hero-based roles), schema (pure heroes vs. morally ambiguous characters), and exemplification (prototypes vs. exemplars). Findings corroborate ADT, Raney’s extension of ADT, and Sanders’ character impression formation model, and demonstrate the OAP’s utility for broader communication research.