Moral Superiority Research Articles

Exploring the dark side of NGO moral goodness: a conceptual framework on the NGO halo and its role in unethical behaviour

There are various examples of unethical behaviour in and by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), yet NGOs are perceived as morally good organisations. Drawing on social identity theory and cognitive dissonance theory we develop a conceptual framework to develop a new root cause for NGO unethical behaviour, namely that such behaviour can be explained because of NGO perceived moral goodness. We propose that when mission, morals and people are perceived as morally good within the NGO, this perception can be glorified, creating an NGO halo. We propose that the NGO halo can drive unethical behaviour through: (1) prioritising mission over other organisational considerations, creating an end-justifies-the-means mentality (moral justification); (2) prioritising the NGO’s morals over legal or social norms, motivating the NGO to trump others’ norms (moral superiority); and (3) prioritising the NGO’s people over ethics management, leading to unethical behaviour being dismissed (moral naivety). We discuss our framework’s implications.

“They Too Will Be Gone and New”. Colonial Otherness in the Interplay between Humanity and Elfdom in Andrzej Sapkowski’s “The Edge of the World”

Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy narrative and novel saga, as exemplified by the “The Edge of the World” short story, borrows largely from J. R. R. Tolkien’s depiction of elves in defining most of their traits and the relationship between them and humans. Sapkowski, however, clearly transforms the image of the (predominantly) benevolent elf defined by Tolkien. The aim of this article is to explore the way in which Sapkowski portrays the elven race as sovereign in their exclusion from the world of humanity. Sapkowski’s story allows the group to maintain its unique motivations, resisting morally dualistic stereotyping at the same time. Moreover, because neither humanity nor elfdom may claim moral superiority in their conflict, the colonial experience of the elves is not simply appropriated by the author as an example of Indigenous victimhood. Rather, it serves the purpose of presenting readers with a multifaceted tapestry of colonial conflict contained within a fantasy world. The players of this world, though opposed and prone to othering their enemies, are nevertheless rhetorically equal.

Salvation and sweet rolls: An examination of Mormon diet books

ABSTRACT Religious diet books highlight the overlap between religious and diet cultures. This article examines the intersection of Mormonism, diet culture, and fatphobia through an analysis of Mormon diet books published between 1990 and 2015. The study explores how Mormon diet books leverage the Word of Wisdom (the LDS health code) to promote weight loss and reinforce religious obedience. By framing dietary compliance as a spiritual mandate, these texts link physical health and body size to moral and spiritual worthiness. This conflation of body and spirit, rooted in Mormon theology, amplifies fatphobia by promoting thinness as a sign of obedience and spiritual strength. The article employs content analysis to identify themes of obedience and missionary work within these diet books. It argues that while these books purport to offer health guidance, they ultimately propagate a problematic narrative that equates thinness with spiritual success and moral superiority. The study highlights the broader implications of such narratives, emphasizing how they contribute to fatphobia and impact individual and community perceptions of body size and health within Mormon culture.

Moral Faces: How Spontaneous Ideological Inferences from Facial Cues Influence Moral Judgments

This research demonstrates that individuals make moral judgments based on ideological inferences from facial cues. Using racially homogeneous male faces, four studies showed that individuals infer ideological beliefs—and thus group membership (in- versus out-group)—from a novel face and that the fit between the inferred social identity and the perceiver’s own social identity leads to judgments of moral superiority. Further evidence shows that a salient social identity moderates moral evaluation. These results reflect the automaticity of social categorization, which contributes to moral judgments of a person.

Dynamic consent: a royal road to research consent?

In recent years, the principle of informed consent has come under significant pressure with the rise of biobanks and data infrastructures for medical research. Study-specific consent is unfeasible in the...

The Impact of Comparative Moral Superiority on Protagonist Appeal

Four studies examine the appeal of protagonists who are sometimes immoral in real-world (Studies 1 & 2) and fictional (Studies 3 & 4) settings. In both, character appeal is influenced by the combination of moral/immoral behaviors a protagonist performs and their moral/immoral behavior relative to another person’s (i.e., their moral superiority/inferiority). Additionally, Study 2 examines the effect of character behavior (moral/immoral vs. highly self-beneficial) on appeal, finding that if two protagonists are equally immoral, one who elsewise behaves morally at times is more appealing than one who is elsewise self-beneficial. Studies 3 and 4 replicate these findings using a fictional drama and fantasy premise instead of a real-world setting. Findings suggest the effect of characters’ immoral behavior on appeal varies based on the moral behavior of comparison characters regardless of the setting’s fictionality. Discussion considers whether moral superiority alters the likelihood that audiences will emulate an imperfect hero’s immoral actions.

Zhangzhou Immigrants between China and the Spanish: Diplomatic Conversations Concerning the 1603 Incident in Manila

Starting in 1573 with the establishment of Manila, the circulation of Chinese goods along the trans-Pacific route brought the Ming Dynasty and the Spanish Empire into contact. Consequently, many people from Fujian Province, especially Zhangzhou city, went to Manila and facilitated the operation of the city. This paper examines the interactions of Zhangzhou immigrants in Manila, focusing their roles and living situations in Parián, the designated neighborhood for the Sangleys. In particular, the diplomatic conversation concerning the 1603 Incident is analyzed to elucidate how the Sangleys were perceived by both the Ming court and the Spanish governors. Records produced by Chinese elites, local gazetteers, and Spanish correspondence reveal the conflicts and negotiations between the Ming government and officials of the Spanish Empire concerning this matter, as well as local and state differences in views. While the contributions of the Sangleys were recognized and used to promote the moral superiority of both sides, they were not seriously considered by either the Chinese court or the Spanish government. The Sangleys offer a unique perspective on the positioning of these two state powers: Each desired to maintain a peaceful relationship yet simultaneously adopted a cautious stance. This study illuminates some of the connections and conflicts which emerged during early modern globalization.

NEGOTIATIONS IN “CHINESE STYLE”

The article reveals the negotiation tactics of Chinese negotiators and the historical and cultural context of their behavior. The author draws attention to a well-thought-out methodology for collecting information about the views, motives, negotiating position and individual characteristics of foreign colleagues. Representatives of the PRC pay great attention to personal relationships, they try to find out the true intentions of foreigners, and skillfully use moral and psychological tools to influence their interlocutor. When the Chinese want to cooperate with their foreign counterparts, they strive to create the most favorable atmosphere of communication, try to win over them and establish close mutual friendly ties. Representatives of the PRC are very demanding to their “friends” and count on their help and support in many matters. National culture influences the behavior of Chinese negotiators. In particular, it focuses on restraint, control of emotions, “body language,” adherence to the rules of politeness, maintaining calm, restraint and patience. A person must behave in a civilized and dignified manner. The Chinese negotiator should not succumb to provocations, he/she should act thoughtfully, take into account the situation and calculate the benefits and harms of his/her actions. The experience of communicating with the PRC colleagues shows that they can behave harshly, criticize their partners for “wrong” behavior, and exert an “educational” influence on them. Sometimes, foreigners sometimes notice high self-esteem among their Chinese partners, a sense of their intellectual and moral superiority. They perceive this behavior as a tool of pressure on the interlocutor. Foreign observers believe that Chinese negotiators are persistent, resilient, tenacious people who strive to use every opportunity to realize their interests. They use moral means to influence their partner to control the negotiation process and dominate the relationship. Chinese negotiators do not absolutize the significance of the signed agreements and will seek their revision if they see that they can receive additional benefits.

Multivocality and Its Implications for the Representation of Heritage: A Case Study of the Slavery Heritage in Mikindani, Tanzania

This article, by using evidence from the old town of Mikindani in Tanzania, explores multivocality in the memorialization of the slavery heritage in Mikindani. It also looks at how multivocality perpetuates dissonance and shapes cultural negotiations and the people’s strategies for coping with violent memories. It employed the notion of heritage dissonance and integrated heritage discourse and a qualitative case-study design. Thirty-three respondents were interviewed and three focus group discussion sessions were held. The findings support the argument that multivocality is an inherent part of heritage that shapes the dissonance regarding what should be conserved and heritage meaning-making processes. Multivocality and the resultant dissonance are further shaped by a complex mix of demographic dynamics, socio-cultural contexts, including religious values, identity struggles, the community’s articulation of the theoretical apparatus, political contexts, including power relations, the local or state political standing, the cultural heritage management (CHM) approach in place, and economic contexts, including the forward-looking nature of the younger people based on the tourist potential of the heritage. Although the resultant dissonance may be passive, it is embedded with the inert social tensions that may not necessarily be harmful to the heritage, but which provide potential spaces for conducting cultural negotiations that strive to defuse the boundaries of identities and the moral superiority–inferiority dogma. This article notes that multivocality should neither be ignored nor evaded, as it could be embraced as a medium for unlocking the sedimentation of a single discourse, understanding and addressing different experiences and expressions and resolving conflicts. The article also provides practical suggestions to the CHM authorities in Mikindani and related sites, as well as suggestions for further research.

A Problem in the Huntingtonian Universe: The Military Side of the Gap

This article investigates the military side of the civil–military value gap in societies with fully professionalized armed forces. The “Huntingtonian Universe” is a paradigm of civil–military relations in which isolation and alienation of armed forces are inevitable once the military becomes separated not just from politics but from the entire political realm by its full professionalization. It is argued that the emergence of a value gap, a sentiment of moral superiority, and contempt toward civilian society is less probable in societies which rely on mandatory military service, as conscription preserves the necessary link between the military and the political realm by keeping the military profession in constant contact with society via conscripts, that is, “temporary soldiers.” Article offers a potential solution for saving the “Huntingtonian Universe” and the concept of objective control of the military by asserting that the optimal way of solving the problem of civil–military value gap is reinstating conscription along with meaningful changes in military education.

Beneficial effects of communicating intentions when delivering moral criticism: Cognitive and neural responses

People often do not accept criticism on their morality, especially when delivered by outgroup members. In two preregistered studies, we investigated whether people become more receptive to such negative feedback when feedback senders communicate their intention to help. Participants received negative feedback from ostensible others on their selfish (rather than altruistic) decisions in a donation task. We manipulated the identity of a feedback sender (ingroup vs. outgroup) and the intention that they provided for giving feedback. A sender either did not communicate any intentions, indicated the intention to help the feedback receiver improve, or communicated the intention to show moral superiority. We measured participants’ self-reported responses to the feedback (Study 1, N = 44) and additionally recorded an EEG in Study 2 (N = 34). Results showed that when no intentions were communicated, participants assumed worse intentions from outgroup senders than ingroup senders (Study 1). However, group membership had no significant effect once feedback senders made their intentions explicit. Moreover, across studies, when feedback senders communicated their intention to help, participants perceived feedback as less unfair compared with when senders tried to convey their moral superiority. Complementing these results, exploratory event-related potential results of Study 2 suggested that communicating the intention to help reduced participants’ attentional vigilance toward negative feedback messages on their morality (i.e., decreased P200 amplitudes). These results demonstrate the beneficial effects of communicating the intention to help when one tries to encourage others’ moral growth through criticism.

Hubris syndrome and technologies of delegitimation of power

The authors refer to the concept of hubris syndrome, introduced into political lexicon in the 2010s by D. Owen, and understood as a specific disease of “people of power.” The hypothesis of the study is that the attribution of hubris syndrome to a leader by the media and within expert discourse is not based on objective criteria, but is manipulative in nature and is determined by the degree of “perverseness of the political course” in terms of its compliance or non-compliance with universal democratic values. The article reveals the mechanisms of delegitimization of power through the assignment of a number of characteristics to it within the framework of hubris syndrome. As the analysis shows, hubris syndrome is an exclusively political construction, which is broadcast to the general public as a medical concept. Arguments about hubris syndrome are always built on the basis of the oppositional pair “democracy – authoritarianism / tyranny”, as it is understood that democratic regimes themselves, due to their immanent properties (multi-stage institutions of control, change of power, openness, etc.), usually prevent the development of hubris. Reversely, authoritarian and tyrannical regimes automatically turn out to be hubristic ones, which allows democratic regimes, by the right of moral superiority, to correct them in different ways that may even lead to intervention and interference. This scheme finds a historical analogy to the application of the concept of civilizational peoples and states in the civilization/barbarism dichotomy in the 18th-19th centuries, which played a similar function for the West, as described by S. Huntington. The discrepancy between the formal definition of hubris syndrome and the use of the concept in politics is obvious. A highly manipulative construct embodies the tactics of de-legitimization of a political leader if he/ she ceases to comply with the norms of a certain cultural and historical chronotope. The authors draw attention to the specific linguistic markers of hubris syndrome in political communication and the ways in which any politician whose speech contains these units can be declared suffering from hubris syndrome.

The Brethren of Purity on Justice for Animals and the Moral Demands of Rational Hierarchy

abstract: This paper intervenes in a contemporary debate on the animal ethics of the Brethren of Purity's (Iḫwān al-Ṣafāʾ) epistle on animals. I argue that they present a case for justice for animals by rejecting the fallacious link between ontological superiority and moral superiority. Since human beings are vice-regents of God and since the rational soul is the vice-regent, the Brethren's account of human beings as superior in virtue of their rationality establishes a moral obligation toward animals. The Brethren develop this account partially under the influence of the Muʿtazilī theological tradition, and as a result, their position falls in line with other positions on justice for animals found during their time. Even on the issue of animal use, the Brethren maintain that the human need for animal labor emphasizes the obligation to treat animals justly. In the end, the greater rational capacity of human beings entails greater moral responsibility toward animals, not moral impunity.

Racial rhetoric in black and white: situational whiteness in Francoist Spanish Guinea through Misión blanca

ABSTRACT This essay analyzes through the interactions of its racially encoded characters under the lens of whiteness. The objective is to locate the representational strategies that Francoist cultural production used to convey moral superiority through racial teachings. The study specifically examines Francoist practices of racial representation to suggest how Spanish whiteness may have been traditionally situational; that is, conceived as a highly rhetorical cultural tactic to assimilate non-whites into the fringes of Spanish whiteness, which in this historical period led to the totalization and silencing of racial dissidence. As a result, the essay will demonstrate how Francoist cinema displayed rhetorical race notions and situational whiteness in Africa to build relationships of moral superiority with regard to Spain’s European counterparts.

Pourquoi les convictions morales facilitent le dogmatisme, l’intolérance et la violence

ObjectivesThis theoretical essay attempts to explain, from an interdisciplinary naturalistic perspective that integrates the biological and social sciences, why and how beliefs associated with moral values can lead to dogmatism, intolerant opinions and attitudes, and can motivate violent collective actions. MethodThe article relies on an integrative analysis of the empirical literature, drawing on 138 articles (78% published in the last eight years) in anthropology, neuroscience, psychology, political science, and sociology to explain why and how moralization strongly increases the strength of beliefs and attitudes – in certainty and importance – which, in turn, motivates social engagement and induces attitudinal extremism regardless of ideological or political affiliation. ResultsMoral convictions are perceived as objective, absolute, necessary, universal, and infallible truths with strong links to emotions, the reward circuit, and the value system in the brain that motivates and controls behavior. Moral values are generally shared with other members of one's community and, therefore, linked to social identity. Perceived social consensus is an important input to objectivity. Objectively grounded moral principles generate an expectation of consensus, which can lead to intolerance and hostility regarding anyone who disagrees. Moral convictions motivate participation in collective action and inspire the courage to oppose perceived injustices, real or imagined, despite a personal cost. Cognitive rigidity is often a characteristic of moral convictions. Once an issue is moralized and considered objective, whether in the social, economic, or political domains, it is more likely to be perceived as an absolute belief, held with high confidence, and immune to corrective information. People who are highly confident in their beliefs are more prone to confirmation bias, making them dogmatic with a sense of moral superiority and less willing to seek or consider corrective information regardless of the accuracy of their beliefs. Specific neural signatures and low-level cognitive dispositions are reliably associated with personality orientations prone to political and social dogmatic attitudes. DiscussionOpinions and attitudes, when moralized, can easily make people dogmatic and intolerant. Moral convictions can serve as mandates that facilitate political activism with extreme and often negative views. The conjunction of moral conviction and identity-based ideology is largely responsible for driving the contemporary hostile affective polarization of opinions. The lack of cognitive flexibility explains the failure to update, calibrate, and discard previous beliefs. This metacognitive overconfidence contributes to a dispositional tendency toward dogmatic intolerance. This makes it easier for people who are extreme in their political attitudes, regardless of political affiliation, to perceive their beliefs as moral absolutes (actions are intrinsically right or wrong, regardless of context or consequence) that reflect an objective, universal truth. ConclusionWhen a social, economic, or political issue is moralized, it becomes more difficult to integrate pragmatic aspects that consider risks, benefits, costs, and consequences. Moral convictions are, therefore, a double-edged sword with both constructive and destructive effects. Given that moral beliefs are often associated with the acceptance of any means to achieve preferred goals, a more comprehensive understanding of how and why they promote constructive but also sometimes destructive forms of social engagement is an important program for interdisciplinary scientific research. Moral conviction is a catalyst that turns beliefs into action, for better and for worse.

The moral superiority of temporal (vs. social) comparisons

AbstractBrands often encourage consumers to compare themselves to two types of standards: other people (i.e., social comparisons) and their own past (i.e., temporal comparisons). Although research has drawn many parallels between these two self‐comparisons, relatively little work has examined how they diverge. Moreover, existing research on their differences focuses on individuals engaging in—rather than brands encouraging—different self‐comparisons. The present research identifies moral perceptions as one critical dimension on which brand‐elicited temporal and social comparisons differ. Four studies find that evoking downward social (vs. temporal) comparisons undermines brand morality perceptions and, consequently, brand evaluations and choice. Providing preliminary insight into the mechanism, when brands evoke downward social (vs. temporal) comparisons, consumers perceive them as promoting status‐seeking behavior, which mediates morality judgments. Furthermore, the effects of comparison type are eliminated among consumers with stronger status motives—those who are less prone to condemn status‐seeking behavior. Altogether, these findings reveal a lay belief in the moral superiority of downward temporal (vs. social) comparisons and the downstream consequences for brands that elicit such comparisons.

A Microcosm of American Exceptionalism: Eigth-Rocks in Ruby as Chosen People in Toni Morrison’s Paradise

American exceptionalism, which has been supposed to have a divine historiography, accentuates and represents various aspects of Americanness that manifest destiny and strong challenges. Its sense of independence and moral superiority stems from the mythos that prioritizes its uniqueness and responsibility as part of its formation process. This ideology, in particular, suggests that the prior history of these people is pointed toward the “New World” in order to build and glamorize their distinctive future. This study offers an overview of the connection between the ideology of American exceptionalism and the 8-rock families, as chosen people, in Toni Morrison’s novel Paradise. Morrison, in Paradise, portrays a black immigration movement that demands a long-term imperial settlement modeled by white American society. Facing the failure of Reconstruction, her characters strive to maintain their freedom and independence through self-imposed, forceful segregation. The assumption that grounds the study, therefore, is that the 8-rock families, the founders of Ruby Town, pattern the ideological formation of American exceptionalism, despite their coal-black skin color and inferior status in cultural paradigms, by adopting a policy of racial segregation. The solidification, as in the American case, implies that self-proclaimed New Founders are responsible for building an independent and superior community that embraces the doctrines of disenfranchisement and racism in America. In addressing this reciprocity and its outcomes, Morrison has confirmed that just like good things, discrimination and ideas of superiority are learned, and Ruby residents have learned to use their skin color as a tool of domination.

Hate speech as a form of entertainment: an unexpected support for the gratification hypothesis on Twitter

ABSTRACT This paper is trying to explore the Uses and Gratification hypothesis, as it applies to Twitter political debates. The findings show that the level of ideological segregation online may be lower than the previous research in this area indicated. Simultaneously, this study may provide an unexpected support for the Uses and Gratifications hypothesis. It comes from the conclusion that many people may find gratification in entertaining themselves by political hate speech. And morality may be one of the main driving forces behind this phenomenon because the sense of one’s own moral superiority is so gratifying.

Identity in a Self-styled ‘Paedophile-hunting’ Group: A Linguistic Analysis of Stance in Facebook Group Chats

AbstractThis article contributes a linguistically informed perspective to a growing body of work describing the nature and practices of self-styled ‘paedophile-hunting’ groups. Their reliance on publicly exposing suspected child predators in live-streamed confrontations poses significant moral and practical challenges for UK law enforcement, even if their evidence has proved significant in the conviction of sex offenders. In this article, we extend extant insight through the linguistic analysis of 18 months of private online group chat data from one of the UK’s most prolific hunting teams. Specifically, we explore the group’s collective linguistic identity performance through a corpus-assisted analysis of stance. Our analysis foregrounds the significance of social bonding and community identity and nuances current understanding of hunters’ negative view of the police. It also suggests that the entertainment value of the detective work involved in hunting may be more significant than the emphasis on hunters’ self-proclaimed moral superiority in extant work suggests.

How Moral Goodness Drives Unethical Behavior: Empirical Evidence for the NGO Halo Effect

With the occurrence of high-profile scandals in the nongovernmental organization (NGO) sector, scholars and practitioners alike have questioned why “good” organizations behave badly, yet little empirical research has explored this topic in depth. The present study examines the NGO halo effect, a conceptual framework that proposes three mechanisms to explain how NGO moral goodness can lead to NGO unethical behavior, that is, moral justification, moral superiority, and moral naivety. Through an analysis of 34 interviews with NGO staff and volunteers, we identify 151 unique cases and 17 different types of unethical behavior. We find that 92% of these cases are related to the halo effect, with 22% through moral justification, 25% through moral superiority, and 45% through moral naivety. This study provides empirical support for the NGO halo effect as a factor for understanding NGOs’ unethical behavior, with implications for future research.