Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
War as a moral imperative (not just practical politics by other means)
1Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research, 80 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011, USA. gingesj@newschool.edu
Abstract:
We present findings from one survey and five experiments carried out in the USA, Nigeria and the Middle East showing that judgements about the use of deadly intergroup violence are strikingly insensitive to quantitative indicators of success, or to perceptions of their efficacy. By demonstrating that judgements about the use of war are bounded by rules of deontological reasoning and parochial commitment, these findings may have implications for understanding the trajectory of violent political conflicts. Further, these findings are compatible with theorizing that links the evolution of within-group altruism to intergroup violence.
Related Concept Videos
Ethics and Bioethics
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Pre-Conventional Level
At the pre-conventional level, morality is primarily driven by personal consequences. In Stage...
Ethical Dilemmas II
Professional Values
The values that are the foundation of the nursing profession are altruism, autonomy, human dignity, and social justice.
First, altruism refers to the concern for the welfare and well-being of others without personal...
Milgram's Obedience to Authority
Egoism and Altruism