Right-wing attitudes and moral cognition: Are Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation related to utilitarian judgment?

Abstract

The present study investigated whether and to what extent ideological attitudes relate to moral reasoning. Specifically, in three studies we tested if Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) are associated with a general tendency to make either utilitarian (outcome-based) or deontological (principle-based) decisions in classic trolley-type moral dilemmas. The first study uncovered that both high RWA and high SDO individuals made more utilitarian versus deontological judgments in trolley dilemmas. A second study, using a process dissociation approach, revealed that this increased relative proportion of utilitarian judgments among high RWA and SDO scorers was guided by a decreased preference for the deontological option, rather than an increased preference for the utilitarian option. Finally, a third study using the RWA3D scale showed that especially the ‘Authoritarian Aggression’ facet scale is related to the decreased preference for the deontological option in high RWA individuals. Overall, these studies provide convergent evidence for substantial differences in moral reasoning tendencies based on ideological attitudes.