Moral Fire in the Belly: How Moralizing an Issue Affects Interpersonal Judgments and Behavior

Abstract

When a person believes an issue is linked to ethical values and concerns, how does this affect his or her interactions with others? The proposed symposium explores the interpersonal effects of moralizing an issue, demonstrating both a dark side and a bright side of framing issues in moral terms. While moralizing leads to stereotyping dissimilar others (Kreps & Monin) and segregation into homogeneous enclaves (Motyl), it also grants legitimacy to advocate (Effron & Miller) and increases moral courage (Skitka). An issue that is viewed in moral terms appears to be a stronger motivator of public social action, judgments of others, and membership in groups and communities, suggesting that managers should be aware of and careful with moral framings when managing conflict and relationships. Moral Convictions and Moral Courage: Unambiguous Goods? Presenter: Linda Skitka; U. of Illinois at Chicago Moralizing an issue increases stereotyping of those on the other side Presenter: Tamar Admati Kreps; Stanford U. Presenter: Benoit Monin; Stanford U. How the Moralization of Issues Grants Social Legitimacy to Act on One’s Attitudes Presenter: Daniel A. Effron; London Business School Presenter: Dale Miller; Stanford U. How Interpersonal Interactions Become Morally Segregated Presenter: Matt Motyl; U. of Virginia