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The Immoral Assumption Effect: Moralization Drives Negative Trait Attributions.
Peter Meindl1, Kate M Johnson2, Jesse Graham2
1University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA meindl@usc.edu.
Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|March 18, 2016
Summary
Moral judgments, surprisingly, drive negative assumptions about others. Even positive moral values like compassion can lead to negative trait assumptions, highlighting a complex link between morality and social perception.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Moral Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Negative trait assumptions are common, yet often viewed as morally wrong.
- Understanding the psychological drivers of these assumptions is crucial for social cognition research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal role of moral evaluations in forming negative trait assumptions.
- To determine if moralization specifically influences negative versus positive trait assumptions.
Main Methods:
- Conducted six experiments with a total of 2,151 participants.
- Utilized experimental designs to establish causal links between moral judgments and trait assumptions.
Main Results:
- Moral evaluations, including those related to open-mindedness and tolerance, causally influenced negative trait assumptions.
- Moralization affected negative assumptions but not positive ones.
- The impact of morality on negative assumptions was not explained by general preferences or trait characteristics like desirability.
Conclusions:
- The tendency to make negative assumptions about others may stem from moral evaluations, even positive ones.
- Moral psychology offers a key explanation for a destructive social cognitive tendency.
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