Transfer effects between moral dilemmas: A causal model theory

Evaluations of analogous situations are an important source for our moral intuitions. A puzzling recent set of findings in experiments exploring transfer effects between intuitions about moral dilemmas has demonstrated a striking asymmetry. Transfer often occurred with a specific ordering of moral dilemmas, but not when the sequence was reversed. In this article we present a new theory of transfer between moral intuitions that focuses on two components of moral dilemmas, namely their causal structure and their default evaluations. According to this theory, transfer effects are expected when the causal models underlying the considered dilemmas allow for a mapping of the highlighted aspect of the first scenario onto the causal structure of the second dilemma, and when the default evaluations of the two dilemmas substantially differ. The theory’s key predictions for the occurrence and the direction of transfer effects between two moral dilemmas are tested in five experiments with various variants of moral dilemmas from different domains. A sixth experiment tests the predictions of the theory for how the target action in the moral dilemmas is represented.     

When to cooperate and when to compete: Emotional intelligence in interpersonal decision-making

This study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), assessed with an ability test, and interpersonal decision-making using the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game (PDG). Previous research found that individuals who self-report high EI tend to cooperate more than others in the Prisoner’s Dilemma. We relativize these findings by showing that individuals scoring high on an ability measure of EI choose effective strategies to deal with three different PDG conditions during real interactions. This suggests that emotionally intelligent individuals are not rigidly predisposed to cooperate regardless of others’ behavior. Instead, EI is associated with the capacity to respond flexibly to others’ strategies and to the interaction context in order to maximize long-term gains – even when this means competing rather than cooperating.     

LYING TO THE NAZI AT THE DOOR

Moral philosophers and theologians have long debated the classic moral dilemma of lying to an intruder in order to save a refugee. This dilemma presents an especially difficult challenge to those who reject consequentialist reasoning. Many contemporary defenders of Thomas Aquinas have argued that lying is never permissible under any circumstances, but none has offered a satisfactory answer to the question of what one ought to do when facing such a dilemma. I argue that there can be no morally satisfying answer to this question, because every possible action will involve some degree of sin, even if lying is the least sinful action. This should not lead us to redefine what it means to tell a lie, nor to say that lying to the intruder is a good or right action; rather, it should lead us to acknowledge the tragic dimension of life in a fallen world.     

贵州少数民族儿童青少年SNARC效应的发展

采用奇偶判断任务,考察二年级至大学阶段贵州民族儿童青少年SNARC效应的发展状况。结果显示：三年级开始出现SNARC效应（包括正确率SNARC效应）;各阶段SNARC效应无显著差异;高、低年级正确率存在显著差异,六年级以后各阶段正确率无显著差异。结论：民族儿童三年级开始形成数字的空间表征。SNARC效应的大小不因年龄而发生变化;被试对奇偶知识的掌握存在发展过程,三年级可能基本理解奇偶信息,六年级后熟练掌握奇偶信息。     

Black magic and respecting persons—Some perplexities

Black magic (henceforth BM) is acting in an attempt to harm human beings through supernatural means. Examples include the employment of spells, the use of special curses, the burning of objects related to the purported victim, and the use of pins with voodoo dolls. For the sake of simplicity, we shall focus on attempts to kill through BM. The moral attitude towards BM has not been, as far as we know, significantly discussed in contemporary analytic philosophy. Yet the topic brings up interesting questions and poses challenges, occasionally even reaching the level of paradoxes. Ideas of respecting persons, in particular, will be seen to be challenged by this form of magic. The notion of respecting persons will be treated here broadly and pluralistically. Indeed part of the interest in the discussion will be the unfolding of the diverse ways in which this term should be understood, and the contrasts between its various uses. Often, as we shall see, respect for persons and disrespect for them, in different senses, will co-exist, and the dilemma will be one where avoiding some forms of disrespect will involve us in disrespect in other senses.     

The mediating role of identity incompatibility in the relationship between perceived discrimination and acculturation preferences in two generations of the ethnic Russian minority in the North Caucasus

Abstract

The present study tested a model in which the perceived incompatibility of ethnic Russian and regional North Caucasian identities mediates the relationship between perceived discrimination and acculturation strategies in two generations of ethnic Russian minority members living in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, North Caucasus, Russian Federation. Two identities might be perceived incompatible when they represent conflicting sets of norms and values and the two communities may place competing demands on individual commitment and loyalty. We sampled 105 dyads from ethnic Russian families (youth: M = 18 years, SD = 2.35, 48.6% female; parents: M = 43 years, SD = 6.97, 68.6% female). The questionnaire included measures of perceived discrimination, perceived identity incompatibility, and acculturation strategies. The results of multigroup path analysis showed that the perceived identity incompatibility mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and two strategies, aimed at culture maintenance (integration and separation) in both generations. Identity incompatibility is regarded as a psychological mechanism that explains the impact of perceived discrimination on minority acculturation preferences in a multicultural region.     

The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure – Revised (MEIM-R): Psychometric evaluation with adolescents from diverse ethnocultural groups in Italy

The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure – Revised (MEIM-R) is an extensively used questionnaire assessing ethnic identity. However, studies on its measurement characteristics in the European context are lacking. The current study addressed this gap by investigating the MEIM-R psychometric proprieties across multiple ethnocultural groups in Italy. Participants were 1445 adolescents (13–18 years) of Italian, East European, and North African origin. Results showed that the MEIM-R has good internal consistency. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses revealed configural and metric invariance, i.e., an equal, correlated two-factor structure (ethnic identity exploration and commitment) and equal factor loadings across groups. Scalar invariance, i.e., equal item intercepts, was found only for the commitment scores that showed no group differences in latent factor mean levels. Partial structural invariance was evidenced, with the factor covariances varying across groups. These findings suggest that the MEIM-R is a valuable tool to assess the correlates of ethnic identity, although further research is needed.     

Admissions of racism in discourse on migration in Greece: Beyond the norm against prejudice?

The turn to language in social psychology is closely related to the study of prejudice as racist discourse has been the subject matter of some of the ground‐breaking discourse analytic work. A widely accepted argument was that there seems to be a norm against prejudice informing Western societies: people commonly engage in denials of prejudice when they make negative comments about minorities. Recent work has argued that, due to ideological shifts in the wider societal context or because denying prejudice may not be people's only rhetorical concern, it is possible to find people admitting prejudice. We examine how people in Greece, Greek majority and immigrants, formulate admissions of racism in interviews on migration and citizenship in Greece. Drawing on Ideological Dilemmas and Critical Discursive Social Psychology, we argue that these admissions ironically operate within the norm against prejudice and discuss our findings in relation to the wider socio‐political Greek context.     

A Single Counterexample Leads to Moral Belief Revision

What kind of evidence will lead people to revise their moral beliefs? Moral beliefs are often strongly held convictions, and existing research has shown that morality is rooted in emotion and socialization rather than deliberative reasoning. In addition, more general issues—such as confirmation bias—further impede coherent belief revision. Here, we explored a unique means for inducing belief revision. In two experiments, participants considered a moral dilemma in which an overwhelming majority of people judged that it was inappropriate to take action to maximize utility. Their judgments contradicted a utilitarian principle they otherwise strongly endorsed. Exposure to this scenario led participants to revise their belief in the utilitarian principle, and this revision persisted over several hours. This method provides a new avenue for inducing belief revision.