Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

18.5K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.  
18.5K
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping02:05

Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping

40.4K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
40.4K
Fundamental Attribution Error01:14

Fundamental Attribution Error

13.2K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
13.2K
Confirmation Biases01:31

Confirmation Biases

7.2K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
7.2K
Bias01:22

Bias

4.9K
Bias refers to any tendency that prevents a question from being considered unprejudiced. In research, bias occurs when one outcome or answer is selected or encouraged over others in sampling or testing. Bias can occur during any research phase, including study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
4.9K
Cognitive Dissonance01:38

Cognitive Dissonance

33.7K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
33.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

View From the Right: Political Orientation and the Association Between Black and Physical Threat.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2026
Same author

Behavioral ecology shapes structural, behavioral, and cognitive solutions.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2025
Same author

Operational and conceptual confusion in life history research necessitates the two-tiered model.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2025
Same author

Childhood Unpredictability is Associated With Religious Coping Through Attachment to God and Divine Forgiveness.

Psychological reports·2024
Same author

The behavioral ecology of moral dilemmas: Childhood unpredictability, but not harshness, predicts less deontological and utilitarian responding.

Journal of personality and social psychology·2021
Same author

The sense of moral obligation facilitates information agency and culture.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2020

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
07:07

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

8.8K

Does Control-Related Information Attenuate Biased Self-Control and Moral Perceptions Based on Weight?

Casey L Timbs1, Heather M Maranges1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA.

Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 29, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Weight bias is linked to perceptions of lower self-control and morality. Interventions targeting control beliefs did not reduce negative moral judgments of higher-weight individuals, suggesting a need for direct moral intervention.

Keywords:
body weightinterventionmoral perceptionsself-control

More Related Videos

Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System
04:48

Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System

Published on: May 8, 2018

11.1K
Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
12:09

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Published on: March 19, 2014

23.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
07:07

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

8.8K
Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System
04:48

Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System

Published on: May 8, 2018

11.1K
Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
12:09

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Published on: March 19, 2014

23.7K

Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Attitude Research
  • Moral Psychology

Background:

  • Negative weight-based attitudes are common and resistant to change.
  • Weight is often moralized, linking higher weight to lower self-control and moral character.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if higher weight is perceived as lower self-control and morality.
  • To test if interventions on control perceptions can reduce weight-based moralization.

Main Methods:

  • Two preregistered experiments were conducted.
  • Interventions provided evidence of weight uncontrollability (Study 1) or high self-control (Study 2).
  • Participants' perceptions of weight, self-control, and morality were assessed.

Main Results:

  • Participants perceived higher-weight individuals as having lower self-control, predicting lower moral character perceptions.
  • Neither intervention strategy successfully improved moral evaluations of higher-weight individuals.
  • Existing interventions on control beliefs were insufficient to reduce weight moralization.

Conclusions:

  • Intervening solely on control-related beliefs is insufficient to decrease weight moralization.
  • Directly targeting moral perceptions may be necessary.
  • Weight moralization might be an automatic process requiring interventions on automatic attitudes.