Individual Differences in the Moralization of Everyday Life |
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| Authors: | Benjamin J. Lovett Alexander H. Jordan Scott S. Wiltermuth |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology , Elmira College blovett@elmira.edu;3. Tuck School of Business , Dartmouth College;4. Department of Management and Organization , University of Southern California |
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| Abstract: | We report on the development and initial validation of the Moralization of Everyday Life Scale (MELS), designed to measure variations in people's assignment of moral weight to commonplace behaviors. In Study 1, participants reported their judgments for a large number of potential moral infractions in everyday life; principal components analysis revealed 6 main dimensions of these judgments. In Study 2, scores on the 30-item MELS showed high reliability and distinctness from the Big 5 personality traits. In Study 3, scores on the MELS were strongly correlated with scores on an early scale of moral judgments, suggesting convergent validity. |
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| Keywords: | moral judgments morality moral psychology |
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