Moral judgment reloaded: a moral dilemma validation study - PubMed (original) (raw)

Moral judgment reloaded: a moral dilemma validation study

Julia F Christensen et al. Front Psychol. 2014.

Abstract

We propose a revised set of moral dilemmas for studies on moral judgment. We selected a total of 46 moral dilemmas available in the literature and fine-tuned them in terms of four conceptual factors (Personal Force, Benefit Recipient, Evitability, and Intention) and methodological aspects of the dilemma formulation (word count, expression style, question formats) that have been shown to influence moral judgment. Second, we obtained normative codings of arousal and valence for each dilemma showing that emotional arousal in response to moral dilemmas depends crucially on the factors Personal Force, Benefit Recipient, and Intentionality. Third, we validated the dilemma set confirming that people's moral judgment is sensitive to all four conceptual factors, and to their interactions. Results are discussed in the context of this field of research, outlining also the relevance of our RT effects for the Dual Process account of moral judgment. Finally, we suggest tentative theoretical avenues for future testing, particularly stressing the importance of the factor Intentionality in moral judgment. Additionally, due to the importance of cross-cultural studies in the quest for universals in human moral cognition, we provide the new set dilemmas in six languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Catalan, and Danish). The norming values provided here refer to the Spanish dilemma set.

Keywords: DPHMJ; cross cultural; decision making; moral dilemmas; moral judgment.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Example of the causal chain of the proposed moral transgression that leads to the salvation. In the Instrumental version of the Burning Building dilemma the proposed action is “to use the body of the victim.” The intention is “use the body to break down burning debris.” The victim dies directly by the fire and there is no independent mechanism in between. A larger number of people are saved due to the fact that the burning debris was eliminated with the victim. The harm to the victim was thus used as a means to save others. Said in different words, the body of the victim was literally used instrumentally with the intention to free the trapped group. Conversely, in the Accidental version of the Iceberg dilemma, the action of the protagonist is “to push the emergency access hatch.” The intention behind that action is “to make the oxygen flow to the upper section of the boat.” The victim dies due to a knock on the head by an independent mechanism which is the falling down of the hatch. Thus, the victim dies as a side-effect of the act of salvation that the protagonist carries out with the intention to get oxygen to the upper section of the boat.

Figure 2

Figure 2

The four factors in the dilemma set, adapted from Christensen and Gomila (2012), reproduced with permission. (1) Personal Force: the kind of imaginary involvement with the situation: Personal, as direct cause, or Impersonal, as an indirect agent in the process of harm. (2) Benefit Recipient: concerns whether the protagonist's life is at stake (Self-Beneficial action), or not (Other-Beneficial action). (3) Evitability: regards whether the victim would die alongside the other individuals in the group if the moral transgression is not carried out (Inevitable death, the person would die anyway), or not (Avoidable death, the person would not die if no action is taken). (4) Intentionality: if the action is carried out intentionally with the explicit aim to kill the person as a means to save others, this is Instrumental harm (it explicitly needs the death of that person to save the others). If the innocent person dies as a non-desired side-effect of the action by some independent mechanism and not directly by the action of the protagonist, the harm is Accidental.

Figure 3

Figure 3

Correlation between Arousal ratings and the RT. Color coding: Personal Moral Dilemmas (PMD; Blue/Red, circles); Impersonal Moral Dilemmas (IMD; Green/Yellow, squares). Arousal ratings are 1 = Not arousing, calm; 7 = Very arousing, on the x-axis. RT is in milliseconds (ms) on the y-axis. The numbers refer to the dilemma numbers in the dilemma set.

Figure 4

Figure 4

Curvilinar relationship between Moral Judgment and RT. Color coding: Personal Moral Dilemmas (Blue/Red, circles); Impersonal Moral Dilemmas (Green/Yellow, squares). Mean Likert scale responses: 1 = No, I don't do it, i.e., deontological moral judgment; 7 = Yes, I do it, i.e., utilitarian moral judgment. RT is in milliseconds (ms). PMD, Personal Moral Dilemmas; IMD, Impersonal Moral Dilemmas.

Figure 5

Figure 5

Relationship between level of arousal of a dilemma and the moral judgment made to that dilemma. Color/shape coding: Personal Moral Dilemmas (Blue/Red, circles); Impersonal Moral Dilemmas (Green/Yellow, squares). Mean Likert scale responses: 1 = No, I don't do it, i.e., deontological moral judgment; 7 = Yes, I do it, i.e., utilitarian moral judgment. Mean Arousal scale responses: 1 = Not arousing, calm; 7 = Very arousing.

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