Testing the human superorganism approach to morality.

Current theories in moral psychology do not agree about the kinds and range of offenses that people should moralize. In this study, a new approach to defining the moral domain, Human Superorganism Theory (HSoT), is presented and tested. HSoT proposes that the primary function of moral action is the suppression of cheaters in the unusually large societies recently established by our species (i.e., human 'superorganisms'). It suggests that a broad range of moral concerns exist beyond traditional notions of harm and fairness, including actions that inhibit functions such as group-level social control, physical and social structuring, reproduction, communication, signaling and memory. Roughly 80,000 respondents completed a web-based experiment hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation, which elicited a suite of responses to characteristics of a set of 33 short scenarios representing the areas identified by the HSoT perspective. Results indicate that all 13 superorganism functions are moralized, while violations of scenarios falling outside this area (social customs and individual decisions) are not. Several hypotheses derived specifically from HSoT were also supported. Given this evidence, we believe this new approach to defining a broader moral domain has implications for fields ranging from psychology to legal theory.

Modelo sociocultural del dominio moral en adolescentes mexicanos / Sociocultural model of moral domain in Mexican adolescents

Resumen Para favorecer el desarrollo de la adolescencia es fundamental fomentar un dominio moral que tenga en cuenta las características de la cultura y la dinámica familiar, pues ambas permiten comprender los principios que conforman el juicio moral. Teniendo esto en cuenta, la presente investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar si el colectivismo, las premisas histórico-sociales-culturales y el funcionamiento familiar predicen el dominio moral en adolescentes mexicanos. Para ello, se contó con una muestra de 459 adolescentes que participaron de manera voluntaria en la aplicación de la Escala de Dominio Moral para Adolescentes, una adaptación de la Escala de Premisas Histórico-Socioculturales, y la Escala de Individualismo y Colectivismo, en secundarias o preparatorias públicas de Ciudad de México y municipios del Estado de México. El análisis de los resultados se realizó con ecuaciones estructurales, tras lo cual se obtuvo un modelo en el que el colectivismo, las normas tradicionales de la cultura mexicana y el funcionamiento familiar predicen el dominio de una moral prescriptiva y restrictiva en adolescentes mexicanos (X 2 = 0.496, gl = 1, p = .481, X 2 /gl = 0.496, AGFI = .992, SRMR = .006, RMSEA < .001). En conclusión, la evidencia obtenida demuestra que una parte importante de las variaciones del dominio moral en adolescentes se debe a factores culturales y de socialización en el entorno familiar.

Abstract In order to favor the development of adolescence it is essential to foster a moral domain that takes into account the characteristics of culture and family dynamics, since both allow to understand the principles that shape moral judgement. This research aimed to determine whether collectivism, historical-socio-cultural premises and family functioning predict moral domain in Mexican adolescents. For this purpose, a sample of 459 adolescents participated voluntarily in the application of the Moral Domain Scale for Adolescents, an adaptation of the Historical-Social-Cultural Premises Scale, and the Individualism and Collectivism Scale, in public secondary schools or high schools in Mexico City and municipalities of the State of Mexico. Data were analyzed using structural equations modeling. A model was obtained in which collectivism, the traditional norms of Mexican culture and family functioning predict the domain of a prescriptive and restrictive morality in Mexican adolescents. In conclusion, the evidence found shows that an important part of the variations in the moral domain in adolescents is due to cultural and socialization factors in the family environment.

Do community and autonomy moral violations elicit different emotions?

According to one important set of theories, different domains of immorality are linked to different discrete emotions-panculturally. Violations against the community elicit contempt, whereas violations against an individual elicit anger. To test this theory, American, Indian and Japanese participants (N = 480) indicated contempt and anger reactions (with verbal rating and face selection) to both the types of immorality. To remedy method problems in previous research, community and autonomy violations were created for the same story-frame, by varying the target to be either the community or an individual. Community and autonomy violations did not differ significantly in the emotion elicited: overall, both types of violations elicited more anger than contempt (and more negative emotion of any kind than positive emotion). By verbal rating, Americans and Indians reported more anger than contempt for both types of violation, whereas Japanese reported more contempt than anger for both types. By face selection, the three cultural groups selected anger more than contempt for both types of violation. The results speak against defining distinct domains of morality by their association with distinct emotions.

Socio-economic factors related to moral reasoning in childhood and adolescence: the missing link between brain and behavior.

Neuroscientific and psychological research on moral development has until now developed independently, referring to distinct theoretical models, contents, and methods. In particular, the influence of socio-economic and cultural factors on morality has been broadly investigated by psychologists but as yet has not been investigated by neuroscientists. The value of bridging these two areas both theoretically and methodologically has, however, been suggested. This study aims at providing a first connection between neuroscientific and psychological literature on morality by investigating whether socio-economic dimensions, i.e., living socio-geographic/economic area, immigrant status and socio-economic status (SES), affect moral reasoning as operationalized in moral domain theory (a seminal approach in psychological studies on morality) and in Greene et al. (2001) perspective (one of the main approaches in neuroethics research). Participants were 81 primary school (M = 8.98 years; SD = 0.39), 72 middle school (M = 12.14 years; SD = 0.61), and 73 high school (M = 15.10 years; SD = 0.38) students from rural and urban areas. Participants' immigrant status (native vs. immigrant) and family SES level were recorded. Moral reasoning was assessed by means of a series of personal and impersonal dilemmas based on Greene et al. (2001) neuroimaging experiment and a series of moral and socio-conventional rule dilemmas based on the moral domain theory. Living socio-geographic/economic area, immigrant status and SES mainly affected evaluations of moral and, to a higher extent, socio-conventional dilemmas, but had no impact on judgment of personal and impersonal dilemmas. Results are mainly discussed from the angle of possible theoretical links and suggestions emerging for studies on moral reasoning in the frameworks of neuroscience and psychology.