Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： Moral dilemma is a type of decision-making situation in which moral principles are in conflict. Under this condition, a decision maker may violate certain moral principles whether he or she endorses or rejects a behavior proposed for a given situation. As research on this topic has advanced, scholars have developed a variety of research paradigms of moral dilemmas. Thus, a systematic analysis of the development process of moral dilemma research paradigms is needed. Such work would not only provide a more accurate methodological understanding of moral dilemma research but would also provide a methodological reference for research on similar psychological conflicts. This paper systematically described the advantages and disadvantages and theoretical value of four current research paradigms in the study of moral dilemma: the classic dilemma (CD) paradigm; process dissociation (PD) paradigm; the consequences, norms, and generalized inaction/action preferences (CNI) model; and the consequences sensitivity, overall action/inaction preferences and norms sensitivity (CAN) algorithm. CD paradigm makes the utilitarianism principle of maximizing the consequences of conflict with the deontology principle of pursuing the normative behavior itself, making it possible to explore moral principle preferences in moral choices. However, it cannot independently measure preference for the utilitarianism principle and preference for the deontology principle, which makes the interpretation of results ambiguous. Based on this paradigm, PD paradigm considers both utilitarianism and deontology principles against a proposed behavior and independently measures these preferences in moral decision-making. PD paradigm has helped resolve many research controversies. However, it does not completely dissociate moral decision preferences. For example, it cannot demonstrate the inclination to generally endorse/refuse a behavior while not considering any moral principles. Particularly, it confounds the inclination to generally refuse behavior proposals while not considering any moral principles in the preference of deontology principle. In this way, it systematically overestimates deontology preference. To overcome this limitation, the CNI model applies a multinomial processing tree model with a factorial design of moral scenarios (norm: prescriptive/proscriptive × consequences: benefits greater/smaller than costs), so that the preferences of generalized action/inaction irrespective of moral principles can be estimated. However, it presupposes that the agent sequentially considers norms—consequences—generalized inaction/action preferences, which results in an overestimation of norms sensitivity and makes the generalized inaction/action preferences untenable. To address this important limitation, CAN applies a new algebraic method to estimate norms sensitivity, consequences sensitivity, and overall action/inaction preferences in moral decision-making. In the development of these four paradigms, later ones resolved the limitations of former ones. Different psychological processes are gradually uncovered with new developed paradigms. The development of research paradigms reveals some directions for future research. First, some controversies in moral decision studies might be due to fundamental limitations of earlier research paradigms. CNI and CAN can be used to solve these controversies. Second, the moral theories based on early research paradigms should be reevaluated using the new paradigms, to verify the tenability of these theories. Third, these research paradigms could be applied to explore other psychological conflicts. In sum, this paper systematically reviewed the development procedure of the methodological paradigms in moral decision-making. It provided a methodological reference for moral dilemma studies and related research.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2021-01-28
Abstract： Previous studies have demonstrated the possibility that when people are in standing than sitting postures, they have a stronger cognitive control propensity, making them inclined to agree more to sacrificing one innocent and saving more people. Furthermore, this postural effect can be moderated by dual processes. In three studies, participants read dilemma scenarios followed by a proposed behavior to sacrifice one innocent and save five or more people. The participants in sitting or standing postures were asked whether the described action was morally acceptable (moral judgment) and whether they would perform the described action (moral action). The results demonstrated that participants were more approving of the behavioral proposal in the moral action perspective than in the moral judgment perspective across the three studies. The hypothesized postural effect was found in a field study (Study 1) and replicated in a pre-registered replication study (Study 2) and further supported in an experimental study (Study 3). Compared with those in sitting postures, participants in standing postures expressed higher approval of the behavioral proposal compared to their sitting counterparts. Furthermore, the postural effect was dismissed when participants made moral decisions with a dual task to increase cognitive load, and it was reversed when they made moral decisions after deliberate consideration of the behavioral proposal (Study 3). The present research supports and extends the dual-process morality theory by demonstrating that body posture can affect moral decision-making; it also offers novel evidence revealing the moderating role of dual process on embodiment effects. It enriches our knowledge that morality is evolutionarily embodied in postures and that the dual process can moderate embodiment effects.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology Subjects: Psychology >> Psychological Measurement submitted time 2019-11-15
Abstract： Social dilemma is a multi-disciplinary topic widely discussed in Ethics, Psychology, Sociology and Economics, among which moral dilemma is the typical paradigm and has a long history of research. Present article reviewed three existed empirical approaches in dilemma research, traditional dilemma paradigm, process dissociation method and Consequences-Norms-generalized Inaction/action (CNI) model. Based on analyzing the contributions and limitations of the above three approaches, we developed a Consequences-general Action/inaction preference-Norms sensitivity estimation (CAN) algorithm. With the development of the four approaches, moral dilemma research has no longer limited in the contradicted dilemma situations. CNI model and CAN algorithm have extended to consider the four combinations between proscriptive/prescriptive norms and benefits greater/smaller than costs. With CNI model and CAN algorithm, Controversies in moral theories and empirical inconsistences can be further clarified. The four approaches provided methodological references for the similar topics with potential contradictions in many other domains. Therefore, the approaches can be used in multi-disciplines."
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> History of Psychology Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology submitted time 2019-11-14
Abstract： Embodied cognition reveals the impacts of body and environment on cognition. Put the implications of all the embodied theories together, the relationship between effect size and effect stability of embodiment effect was different before and after mind maturity. Before mind maturity, the effect size is big but unstable; after mind maturity, the effect size is small but stable. The implications of all the theories shed light on the dual processes underlying embodiment effect. Recently, several empirical evidences also suggest the dual processes underlying embodiment effect. To summarize, continuity of being unconsciously processed, cognitive resources accessibility and potential psychological conflict are the three key boundary conditions for embodiment effect. Combining theoretical and empirical evidences, Embodied Dual Process Perspective was suggested. The basic boundary conditions and the dual process property should be addressed in light of new found embodiment effects and the replications of identified embodiment effects. The Embodied Dual Process Perspective offers a notable extension for precisely localizing the embodiment effects and advancing the therotical consideration of the replication crisis.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2019-09-16
Abstract： When asked questions that are framed by moral action rather than by moral judgment, dual-process moral theory posits that people will tend to be more deontological or more sensitive to norms because of a stronger moral-disgust arousal to a sacrificing proposal (e.g., sacrifice one innocent life to save five or more others). However, the action-based model of cognitive dissonance predicts that the decision-maker will be less deontological or less sensitive to norms because of the stronger motivation to reduce the dissonance state. In the present research, three studies (N = 960) were conducted to clarify this moral-question framing effect. Study 1 utilized a classic moral dilemma paradigm to preliminarily assess the moral-question framing effect. Study 2 applied a 2 (norm: proscriptive/prescriptive) × 2 (consequence: benefits greater than/smaller than costs) × 2 (frame: moral judgment/moral action) within-subject design and a new algorithm to further define the boundary conditions of the moral-question framing effect. Study 3 adopted a consequences–norms–generalized inaction/action preferences (CNI) model to validate the new algorithm and the results of Study 2. Together, the results show that participants were less sensitive to norms, were more sensitive to consequences, and transitioned from a generalized action preference to a generalized inaction preference when they were asked moral action- versus moral judgment-framed questions. Thus, the present research supports the action-based model of cognitive dissonance and reveals that moral decision-making is affected by the motivation process. Theoretical and methodological implications are also discussed."
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Other Disciplines of Psychology submitted time 2018-10-16
Abstract： Recently, previously established embodiment effects (e.g. power pose effects) have partly failed to replicate, calling into question whether embodiment is in fact a true effect. Based on an analysis of the concepts of “conceptualization”, “alternative” and “construction” of embodiment cognition, this present article proposed a way out of the dilemma by specifying four characteristics of this effect: embodied generating level, strength degree, constructing direction and experimental task. Clarifying these four aspects could be helpful to accurately understand the embodiment effect and address the replication crisis. Future studies could conduct by differentiating and synthesizing the embodied generating levels, distinguishing different conditions for embodied strength, discovering the mediating or moderating role of embodied variables, and creating new specific experimental paradigms.
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