Moral Perception Research Articles

Are older adults perceived as morally better than middle-aged persons? Focus on the stereotype content model

Identifying and improving existing morality perceptions regarding older adults is crucial for fostering intergenerational cooperation and constructing an inclusive society. In this study, we conducted two online experiments with Japanese participants to investigate the degrees to which older adults are perceived as moral. We predicted that older adults are more likely to be perceived as morally good compared to middle-aged individuals (Hypothesis 1), and that regardless of the target person's age, individuals perceived as warm (Hypothesis 2) and competent (Hypothesis 3) are more likely to be regarded as morally good. In Study 1, participants were instructed to freely describe a typical older (aged 80 years) or middle-aged (aged 50 years) target individual. Contrary to expectations, the middle-aged target individual was perceived as morally better than the older counterpart. Meanwhile, regardless of the target individual's age, the target individuals perceived as warm and competent were more likely to be viewed as morally good. In Study 2, participants were presented with a simple vignette describing an older (aged 80 years) or middle-aged (aged 50 years) target individual, manipulating their warmth (warm/cold) and competence (competent/incompetent). The results indicated no effect of target age on moral perceptions, but warmer and/or more competent target individuals elicited higher moral perceptions. Thus, Hypothesis 1 was not supported in either study, whereas Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported across both studies. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing moral perceptions, warmth, and competence regarding older adults to facilitate appropriate assistance from other generations.

India’s Vaccine Diplomacy and Global Health Governance: A Soft Power Approach in the Context of Public Policy and Religious Values

Research Problem: India's vaccine diplomacy during the Covid-19 pandemic has not only emerged as a significant tool of soft power but also involves moral and ethical dimensions closely tied to religious values and public policy. In the midst of a global crisis, the interaction between India’s vaccine diplomacy and the religious and public policy frameworks of recipient nations requires deeper exploration. Research purposes: This article aims to analyze the role of India’s vaccine diplomacy in relation to public policy and religious values in recipient countries, examining how India’s global health initiatives influence moral and ethical perceptions of vaccine distribution, fairness, and international solidarity. Research methods: The study employs policy analysis through a comprehensive literature review, focusing on the relationship between vaccine diplomacy, public policy, and responses from religious communities in the recipient countries. It also explores the ethical and spiritual dimensions of India’s health diplomacy approach and its impact on public health policies. Results and Discussion: The findings reveal that India’s vaccine diplomacy, through initiatives like "Vaccine Maitri," not only strengthens political ties with neighboring and global countries but also interacts with religious value systems, influencing public acceptance of vaccines. Moral values such as solidarity and justice, integral to many religious traditions, reinforce positive responses to the vaccine initiatives. Additionally, in some nations, religious communities have played a significant role in promoting vaccine acceptance by framing the health response in moral terms. Research Implications and Contributions: This research highlights the importance of integrating religious values into public health policy, particularly in global health contexts. Vaccine diplomacy rooted in moral solidarity and universal ethical principles, aligned with religious values, has the potential to enhance international cooperation and reduce vaccine hesitancy. Thus, this study contributes to understanding how religion and public policy can collaborate effectively in addressing global health challenges.

EUTHANASIA AND THE COUNTRIES WHICH POSITIVELY REGULATED ACTIVE EUTHANASIA

Objectives: The main objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive understanding of Euthanasia, also known as mercy-killing, and its various forms. It also aims to discuss the moral and legal implications of Euthanasia, which differ across countries, and examine the statutory frameworks of jurisdictions where Active Euthanasia has been legalized. Methods: The article outlines the concept of Euthanasia and categorizes its different genres. It then focuses on the statutory regulations in countries where Active Euthanasia has been positively regulated, analyzing the legal frameworks that govern the practice. Results: The study reveals that while mercy is central to Euthanasia, the moral perceptions of the practice differ significantly between countries. There is no international consensus on the legality and morality of Euthanasia, with certain jurisdictions adopting laws to regulate Active Euthanasia, whereas others continue to oppose it. Conclusion: The article concludes that despite the variance in legal and moral perspectives, Euthanasia remains a complex and controversial topic. The differences in statutory regulations across countries reflect the diverse approaches to dealing with the ethical dilemma of mercy-killing, with some nations embracing regulation and others maintaining resistance.

Bystanders’ Reactions to a Woman Victim of Sextortion: Moral Outrage, Victim Blaming and Reputational Damage

ABSTRACTSextortion is a scantly investigated crime in which entrusted authority is abused to obtain sex in exchange for a service or benefit. Based on the literature on gender violence, in the present research, we examined the role of moral evaluations of the victims in predicting potential bystanders’ attitudes and behavioural intentions towards a woman who is a victim of a sextortion incident. In three experimental studies conducted with Italian participants (Study 1: n = 291; Study 2: n = 288; Study 3: n = 331), participants read a scenario describing a woman victim of sextortion and then rated the victim on moral outrage, moral evaluation, blame attribution, perceived reputational damage, and indicated their willingness to help her. The results highlighted that the victim was always perceived as less moral and more blameworthy when she caved into sextortion (vs. not). Furthermore, a sequential mediation model showed that, across all studies, caving into (vs. resisting) sextortion elicited stronger feelings of moral outrage towards the victim, as well as the perception of lower morality, which, in turn, reduced the willingness to offer help. In Study 3, this pattern was significant only when the woman reported the incident 1 year later (vs. 1 week). Current findings show that the peculiar transactional nature of sexual abuse makes sextortion victims appear to be complicit in the act. Thus, recognising the power dynamics through which sextortion can be used to exploit and abuse individuals is paramount to avoid secondary victimisation.

Is common behavior considered moral? The role of perceived others' motives in moral norm inferences and motivation about environmental behavior

The present research examines how inferences about moral norms from descriptive norms change by perceptions of others' motives in the context of environmental behavior. When individuals think that many others engage in an environmental behavior (e.g., water and energy conservation) for prosocial (vs. proself) motives, they infer moralization about the behavior in a given context. They infer stronger injunctive norms about the behavior and expect others to experience moral outrage at violation of the moral standard (e.g., wasting water and energy). The moral norm perceptions predict people's motivation to engage in environmental behavior themselves. We further show that expected guilt and shame if not engaging in normative behavior explain the effects of prosocial-motivated (vs. proself-motivated) norms. Together, perceived motives behind descriptive norms change people's inferences about moral implications of normative behavior and their motivation to engage in normative behavior.

Technological Culture and the Challenge of Erosion of Yorùbá Moral Values

The advent and rapid evolution of technology have significantly impacted global cultures, including the culture of Yorùbá people, an ethnic group primarily located in southwestern Nigeria. The Yorùbá people are known for their rich cultural heritage, which includes a strong emphasis on communal living, respect for elders, and a deep sense of spirituality and moral uprightness. However, the pervasive influence of technological advancements, such as the internet, social media, and mobile technologies, has posed a significant challenge to the preservation of these values. Social media platforms, in particular, have played a role in reshaping perceptions of morality, success, and identity, often promoting values that conflict with traditional Yorùbá principles. This paper examines how technological culture contributes to the erosion of Yorùbá moral values, traditionally passed down through generations. A self-structured questionnaire grounded in the Ọmọlúàbí Code of Ethics was used as instrument. One hundred Yorùbá youths in Ede community, Osun State, Nigeria were sampled across the three major religious groups in Nigeria and copies of the questionnaire given to them. The findings reveal a significant relationship between the increasing use of technology and the perceived erosion of Yorùbá moral values. The younger generations, who are more engaged with digital platforms, exhibit a noticeable shift in moral perspectives, often aligning more with globalized digital culture than traditional Yorùbá ethics. Now, while technological culture poses challenges to the preservation of Yorùbá moral values, it also offers opportunities for innovative cultural engagement and education. The study, therefore, recommends a balanced approach, advocating for the integration of traditional values within modern technological frameworks. This study also recommends that film censoring should be taken more seriously by the government in order to disallow contents that seem to downplay good moral values and that broadcasting houses should promote/project indigenous cultural and moral values.

Is moral understanding a kind of moral vision?

AbstractUnderstanding is often descibed as a kind of “seeing”, and that would make moral understanding a kidn of moral vision. Recently the idea of moral perception has been explored. I suggest that the identification of moral understanding with moral perception is promising, as it seems to give a good account of what is distinctively valuable about moral understanding. But in the end it faces a difficult dilemma. I draw some conclusions about what is distinctive about moral understanding and the role that moral vision might play.

Вопросы преподавания биоэтики в современных условиях Кыргызстана

Today, the problems of moral education of future doctors are the most acute not only in the Kyrgyz Republic. The consciousness of the youth of the XXI century is sometimes formed in a non-linear way under the influence of pragmatism and utilitarianism. The organization of ethical and moral perception of the world and self-organization in the best positions of humanism is a problem not only of a theoretical but also of a practical nature. Methodological ideas and principles proposed by various researchers in the field of social sciences and humanities are mainly aimed at overcoming both all-encompassing relativism and fundamentalism. However, the way it should be implemented while teaching bioethics is a methodological problem, in particular in the Kyrgyz Republic. The purpose of our work is to consider various approaches in the context of development of our national paradigm of education in medical universities. Modern Kyrgyzstan needs efficient teaching methods, since only they can effectively form the main pillars of moral consciousness of students, which are necessary for implementing medical activities. The educational cornerstone is development of interactive discourse, not only as a comprehensive communication, but also as analysis of all the interacting factors of this process (determining the context, directly affecting the participants and their understanding of the world). The research uses methods of hermeneutics and comparative analysis. Pedagogical approaches and methods of use while teaching bioethics at universities are taken into consideration. Teachers of bioethics in medical institutions of Kyrgyzstan need to develop effective approaches and methods of teaching young people, such as interactive discourse and a dialectical method.

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Trust in Nepalese Commercial Banks

This study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CRS) on consumer trust in Nepalese commercial banks. Customer trust is the dependent variable. The selected independent variables are service quality, organization identification, employee commitment, organization attractiveness, and organization morality. The primary source of data is used to assess the opinions of the respondents regarding the perception of service quality, organization identification, employee commitment, organization attractiveness, and organization morality. The study is based on primary data of 20 commercial banks with 125 respondents. To achieve the purpose of the study, structured questionnaire is designed. The regression models are estimated to test the significance and importance of impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer trust in Nepalese commercial banks. The result showed that service quality has a positive impact on consumer trust. It implies that better the service quality, better would be the customer trust. Similarly, organization identification has a positive impact on customer trust. It indicates that specific organization identification leads to increase customer trust. Likewise, employee commitment has a positive impact on customer trust. It indicates that the influence of committed employee drives positive impact on customer trust. Further, organization attractiveness has a positive impact on customer trust. It indicates that organization attractiveness stimulates the positive customer trust. Moreover, the result also shows that organization morality has a positive impact on customer trust. It indicates that higher the organization morality, higher would be the customer trust.

Gendered Corruption: People's Reactions to Victims of Monetary Versus Sexual Extortion.

This research addresses the important issue of the connection between corruption and gender-based violence, an area that has gained increasing attention in recent years. It provides a new perspective by comparing the perception of victims of monetary corruption versus sexual corruption. Through an experimental study, we exposed participants to a fictitious scenario in which they witnessed an event of sex-based (vs. money-based) extortion. The results showed that the victims' decision to cave into the extortion (both money or sex-based) led to higher feelings of moral outrage and blame toward them, and a weaker moral perception. Moreover, victims were considered less moral and more prone to reputational damage when described as caving into sex-based (vs. money-based) extortion. Finally, a moderated mediation model showed that the reputational damage suffered by the woman also significantly mediated the relation between the decision to cave into the extortion and the helping intentions toward her, but only when the corruption involved sexual payment. These findings provide insights into the perception of victims of both money-based and sex-based extortion, highlighting the significant role of reputational damage and stigma in the context of sextortion.

Moral norms and risk perceptions toward driving under the influence of recreational versus medical cannabis among Israeli young adults

ABSTRACT Many studies have compared individuals who use cannabis for recreational versus medical purposes, but little is known about the moral norms and risk perceptions toward recreational versus medical cannabis while driving. This study aims to examine young Israeli adults’ behaviors, perceived moral norms, and perceived risk regarding driving under the influence of recreational versus medical cannabis. Methods: The study was conducted using quantitative questionnaires. Participants were 504 young adults, aged 18–30 (M = 25.26; SD = 5.40), of whom 314 (62.3%) were women. Results: Driving under the influence of medical cannabis was perceived as more moral and less risky than driving under the influence of recreational cannabis. Significant positive correlations were observed between perceived risk and perceived moral norms for both types of cannabis. Significant negative correlations were found between the frequency of driving under the influence of recreational cannabis and the perceived risk and perceived moral norms associated with both types of cannabis. Conclusion: Policymakers should promote prevention, harm reduction, and enforcement interventions to address the issue of driving under the influence of both recreational and medical cannabis.

Perspectives on Spare Embryos amongst IVF users: An Exploratory Study from a Selected District of the Southern Indian State of Karnataka.

Perspectives of IVF users on their spare embryos is a less explored subject in the Indian context despite the country's population and abundance of IVF clinics. We conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews in a selected district of the Indian state of Karnataka. Seven individuals were recruited independently of any assistance from an IVF clinic. The interviews explored participants' knowledge and perception of the spare embryos using a set of guiding questions exploring the theme of the informed consent process, views on research, preferences for embryo donation, the role of family and the dynamics of decision-making, amongst other things. The interviews were qualitatively analysed using Corbin and Strauss's grounded theory approach. Our findings reveal that the participants do not learn about the prospects of spare embryos from the very start of their IVF journeys, and they may not be informed about the various options available to decide the fate of the spare embryos. Irrespective of their views on research and moral perceptions of embryos, participants expressed a sense of responsibility and ownership towards their embryos and a general reluctance to donate them. Our findings have implications for guiding future inquiries on this subject, which can better the informed consent process and unravel the role of ownership in the ethics of spare embryos in the Indian context.

The effect of Philosophy for Children (P4C) activities on the development of moral perception and social rules of preschool children

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of P4C implementations on children's perceptions of moral and social rules. The study was carried out with a total of 48 children aged five years old, 23 of them in the experimental group and 25 of them in the control group, attending a public school in the 2023–2024 academic years. A quasi-experimental design was used in the research, and the fully mixed sequential equal status design, one of the mixed research typologies, was applied. The Preschool Children's Conceptions of Moral and Social Rules Scale was applied in the quantitative dimension of the research, and observation, interviews, and anecdotal records constituted the qualitative data collection dimension. Briefly, after the implementation process, the experimental group's perception of moral and social norms improved. In the current study, a substantial difference between the children's moral rule and social rule perceptions after the P4C sessions was discovered when the experimental group's moral rule and social rule perception scale scores were analyzed before and after the implementation. A noticeable improvement in cognitive and social-emotional development was seen. It was determined that positive behaviors improved, particularly in moral situations requiring tolerance, in the experimental group. The study came to the conclusion that teaching children philosophy helps them enhance their critical thinking skills.

The vaccination divide: Exploring moral reasoning associated with intergroup antipathy between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

There is growing evidence of intergroup hostility between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, a process of polarization that threatens to derail population health efforts. This study explores the moral underpinnings of intergroup antipathy between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. A cross-sectional design was employed to investigate the associations between the view of vaccination as a social contract or individual choice, perceived vulnerability to disease, perceptions of outgroup morality, feelings of warmth, and experiences of schadenfreude. Data were extracted from an online, quantitative survey of 233 vaccinated and 237 unvaccinated participants collected between June and July 2022. Results revealed that vaccinated people had stronger negative attitudes towards unvaccinated people than vice versa. In line with hypotheses, the extent to which vaccinated people saw vaccination as a social contract was significantly associated with perceiving unvaccinated people as immoral. For unvaccinated people, seeing vaccination as an individual choice (the opposite of a social contract) was significantly associated with perceiving vaccinated people as immoral. Among both groups, viewing the other as immoral was associated with feeling significantly less warmth towards the opposing vaccination group, and more schadenfreude in the face of an outgroup member's suffering. Participants' perceived vulnerability to disease played a relatively small role in explaining polarization between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. This research builds on previous studies by identifying moral mechanisms associated with intergroup antipathy in the vaccine debate.

How prehospital emergency personnel manage ethical challenges: the importance of confidence, trust, and safety

BackgroundEthical challenges constitute an inseparable part of daily decision-making processes in all areas of healthcare. Ethical challenges are associated with moral distress that can lead to burnout. Clinical ethics support has proven useful to address and manage such challenges. This paper explores how prehospital emergency personnel manage ethical challenges. The study is part of a larger action research project to develop and test an approach to clinical ethics support that is sensitive to the context of emergency medicine.MethodsWe explored ethical challenges and management strategies in three focus groups, with 15 participants in total, each attended by emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and prehospital anaesthesiologists. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The approach to data analysis was systematic text condensation approach.ResultsWe stratified the management of ethical challenges into actions before, during, and after incidents. Before incidents, participants stressed the importance of mutual understandings, shared worldviews, and a supportive approach to managing emotions. During an incident, the participants employed moral perception, moral judgments, and moral actions. After an incident, the participants described sharing ethical challenges only to a limited extent as sharing was emotionally challenging, and not actively supported by workplace culture, or organisational procedures. The participants primarily managed ethical challenges informally, often using humour to cope.ConclusionOur analysis supports and clarifies that confidence, trust, and safety in relation to colleagues, management, and the wider organisation are essential for prehospital emergency personnel to share ethical challenges and preventing moral distress turning into burnout.

Hidden Barriers to Marketplace Disability Accessibility: An Empirical Analysis of the Role of Perceived Trade-Offs

Abstract Disability is a basic human condition that affects a significant proportion of the world’s population, yet many disability- and accessibility-relevant issues remain pressing and insufficiently addressed. With three experiments, the current research investigates potential reasons for why marketplace disability accessibility has not been universally accepted. Potential barriers to greater accessibility in marketplaces may arise because such efforts appear at odds with other salient priorities, at micro (i.e., consumer) and macro (i.e., firm, policy, or societal) levels. In the proposed framework and resulting experiments, micro-level trade-offs prompt perceptions of personal cost and macro-level trade-offs prompt perceptions of firm morality. In turn, these perceptions mediate firm evaluations, showing that consumers at baseline respond negatively to accessibility. Critically, however, several practical interventions emerge from these processes. Marketers can mitigate consumers’ negative responses to accessibility by employing simple framing choices such as emphasizing who benefits or noting what the purpose of the offering is. By demonstrating one way to better understand perceptions of the full spectrum of the consumer population, this research provides pathways for consumer researchers to further delve into disability-related research in the future.

An Abolitionist Vicious Circle: Slaving, Antislavery, and Violence on the Shores of Lake Tanganyika at the Onset of Colonial Occupation

ABSTRACT In the late nineteenth century, abolitionists felt entitled to use all possible means to save the African victims of the slave trade. As European imperialism rose, abolitionism legitimized interventionism. This article explores how a major humanitarian movement could sanction colonial occupation and the violence that accompanied it. It also examines the position of African slaveholders who resisted the entrenchment of European rule and defended an order in which slavery was common. It focuses on two main actors: French Captain Leopold Joubert, Catholic royalist and former pontifical Zouave who supported Cardinal Lavigerie's Missionaries of Africa and Belgian King Leopold II's allegedly abolitionist endeavours; and Tippu Tip, a trader and slaver who, like Joubert, worked for self-styled abolitionists such as Leopold II and the Sultan of Zanzibar. The connected microhistories of these men show how the international problematization of African slavery fuelled both European imperialism and anti-colonial resistance, while also creating circumstances in which enslaved persons emancipated themselves. The article investigates the moral perceptions of individuals whose sense of self was predicated upon values embodied by Europe's monarchies, the papacy of Rome, and the sultanate of Zanzibar. Faced with what they perceived as existential threats to these institutions, they responded with rising radicalism.

Understanding Religious Egocentrism

The exploration of religious egocentrism reveals its prevalence and significance within religious discourse, with implications for individual development and societal interactions. Rooted in early developmental stages and characterized by narcissism and self-centeredness, religious egocentrism influences perceptions of morality, relationships with others, and interpretations of divine concepts. Contrasting religious egocentrism with radicalism and extremism underscores nuanced distinctions in cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. While religious radicalism shares certain traits with egocentrism, such as literal interpretations of sacred texts and emphasis on religious symbols, extremism diverges by glorifying violence and imposing personal beliefs on others. This delineation underscores the spectrum of religious orientations, ranging from egocentrism's self-centeredness to extremism's militant ideology.

How social evaluations shape trust in 45 types of scientists.

Science can offer solutions to a wide range of societal problems. Key to capitalizing on such solutions is the public's trust and willingness to grant influence to scientists in shaping policy. However, previous research on determinants of trust is limited and does not factor in the diversity of scientific occupations. The present study (N = 2,780; U.S. participants) investigated how four well-established dimensions of social evaluations (competence, assertiveness, morality, warmth) shape trust in 45 types of scientists (from agronomists to zoologists). Trust in most scientists was relatively high but varied considerably across occupations. Perceptions of morality and competence emerged as the most important antecedents of trust, in turn predicting the willingness to grant scientists influence in managing societal problems. Importantly, the contribution of morality (but not competence) varied across occupations: Morality was most strongly associated with trust in scientists who work on contentious and polarized issues (e.g., climatologists). Therefore, the diversity of scientific occupations must be taken into account to more precisely map trust, which is important for understanding when scientific solutions find their way to policy.

Decisional trade-offs towards doping and their association with moral attitudes and health risk perceptions: A mixed methods study

ABSTRACT The objective of the present research was to examine doping-related decisional trade-offs, and their relationship with health risk perceptions towards doping and moral attitudes in sport. A mixed methods sequential-explanatory design was used. In Study 1,249, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes from 16 countries completed anonymous online questionnaires on decisional trade-offs related to doping, health risk beliefs towards doping, moral attitudes in sport, and socio-demographic variables. The results showed that almost 1 in 10 athletes would trade their life for sporting success, independently of the moral implications of their choice. When mortal threat was absent, 31.5% of the athletes would trade morality for sporting success. Decisional trade-off choices differentiated scores in moral attitudes, such as acceptance of cheating and keeping winning in proportion. In Study 2, 11 British competitive MMA athletes were interviewed about decisional trade-offs involving moral violations or mortal threats. Thematic analysis corroborated the Study 1 findings, with most athletes dismissing the doping choice involving a mortal threat but endorsing the one where the mortal threat was absent. Anti-doping education in MMA athletes should target the decision-making process underlying doping, with an emphasis on moral values and the adverse health risk effects of doping.