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Easy on the mind, easy on the wrongdoer: discrepantly fluent violations are deemed less morally wrong
Simon M Laham1, Adam L Alter, Geoffrey P Goodwin
1University of Melbourne, School of Behavioural Science, Parkville, Victoria, Melbourne 3010, Australia. slaham@unimelb.edu.au
Cognition
|July 4, 2009
Summary
Processing fluency impacts moral judgment. Easier processing of moral violations, even if discrepant, led to lower perceived wrongness, highlighting metacognitive influences.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Moral Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Moral judgment is often considered a rational process.
- However, experiential factors and metacognitive experiences may significantly influence moral evaluations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that discrepancies in processing fluency affect the perceived wrongness of moral violations.
- To explore the role of metacognitive experiences in moral judgment.
Main Methods:
- Participants evaluated moral violations presented in fonts varying in readability (easy vs. difficult).
- Processing fluency was manipulated to be consistent, more fluent, or less fluent compared to previous experiences.
- Perceived wrongness of moral violations was measured.
Main Results:
- Moral violations processed with discrepant fluency were rated as less morally wrong compared to those processed with discrepant disfluency.
- This effect was observed across multiple vignette types.
Conclusions:
- Metacognitive experiences, specifically processing fluency, play a crucial role in shaping moral judgments.
- Experiential factors are important contributors to the understanding of moral judgment processes.
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