Pacific Standard July-August 2013 Cover

Thinking of Science Strengthens Moral Fiber

March 19, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
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Want to be a better person? Spend more time thinking about science. That’s the implication of newly published research, which finds people who study science—or even are momentarily exposed to the idea of scientific research—are more likely to condemn unethical behavior, and more inclined to help others. “Thinking about science leads individuals to endorse more stringent moral norms,” report psychologists Christine Ma-Kellams of Harvard University and Jim Blascovich of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their research is published in the online journal PLOS One. The ... Read More

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Black-and-White Pattern Inspires Black-and-White Thinking

December 17, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
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When faced with an ethical issue, do you tend to come down strongly in one direction or the other? Or do you opt for a more nuanced response? Newly published research suggests the answer may depend, in part, on whether you have been exposed to a metaphorically resonant visual cue. Specifically, it finds greater polarization of opinion among people who have peripherally gazed at a black-and-white pattern. University of Cambridge psychologists Theodora Zarkadi and Simone Schnall describe two related experiments in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. In the first, 111 visitors to ... Read More

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Explaining Liberals to Conservatives, and Vice-Versa

February 22, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment

Pleas to tone down the heated political rhetoric in America tend to suffer the same fate as sensible-eating guidelines: endorsed in principle and ignored in practice. It’s clear enough why. The views of liberals and conservatives rest on fundamentally different foundations, making it difficult to locate common ground. Lacking a basic understanding of their opponents’ motivations, partisans view those on the other side of the ideological divide warily, often assuming the worst. In his essential new book, The Righteous Mind, psychologist Jonathan Haidt offers no easy way out of this ... Read More

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Taste Buds Reflect Feelings of Moral Disgust

May 18, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

Intimate contact with religious beliefs that differ from your own can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Literally. That’s the conclusion of newly published research, which — depending on how you interpret the results — has either grim or moderately encouraging implications for interfaith relations. University of Illinois psychologists Ryan S. Ritter and Jesse Lee Preston found self-described Christians were more likely to describe a beverage as disgusting following exposure to an incompatible belief system. This provides more evidence that the emotion of disgust — an ... Read More

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Cleanliness Cues Activate Conservative Attitudes

April 4, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

They may not know it, but Republicans have a secret weapon in their attempt to convince Americans of the correctness of their cause: hand sanitizers. Such commonplace reminders of the concept of physical cleanliness can influence moral and political attitudes. That’s the conclusion of Cornell University psychologists Erik Helzer and David Pizarro, who report this effect is particularly strong in the arena of sexual morality. Their study, just published in the journal Psychological Science, brings together three interesting threads of recent psychological research: 1. The notion that ... Read More

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Puritan Values Still Resonate in Today’s USA

November 3, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment

A cursory look at contemporary American culture suggests our ancestors’ Puritan values have been definitively discarded. Given the quick-money ethos of Wall Street, the hook-up culture of college students and the vast pornography industry, it seems clear that the colonists’ strict moral code — pro-hard-work, anti-promiscuous-sex — is, for better or worse, behind us. Well, hold onto your bonnets: The Puritans’ value system remains lodged deep in our psyches, shaping our emotions, judgments and behaviors. And its effects can be seen regardless of one’s political orientation or ... Read More

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Cleanliness is Next to Self-Righteousness

May 6, 2010 • By • 5 Comments

As health educators never tire of reminding us, washing our hands helps stop the spread of disease. But a growing body of research suggests this routine activity has deep metaphorical connotations, and triggers surprising psychological side effects. Two newly published studies look at this phenomenon from different perspectives. One links physical cleanliness with harsh moral judgments, while the other suggests hand-washing impacts the way we view past decisions on matters unrelated to ethics or values. The connection between physical cleanliness and moral purity dates back at least as ... Read More

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Five Words In and You’ve Decided

August 21, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment

As the recent footage of contentious town hall meetings reminds us, it is difficult to have a reasoned discussion about our political differences — particularly when the issues at stake touch upon our moral values. New research suggests that part of the problem is the way we process information in the brain. According to a paper recently published in the journal Psychological Science, the brain takes a mere quarter of a second to react to statements that contradict or challenge our ethical belief system. That nearly instantaneous neural response colors the way the rest of the sentence — ... Read More

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