Psychological distance increases uncompromising consequentialism

Aguilar, Pilar Corrales; Brussino, Silvina; Fernández‐Dols, José‐Miguel

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2013.01.002

Cited by 33 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This principle is also consistent with other research on moral judgment, which suggests that people are more likely to think deeply about, and thereby exhibit more consequentialist reasoning for, their own ethical dilemmas than the ethical dilemmas of others(Greene et al, 2001). And though another paper suggests that people may instead use more consequentialist reasoning for judgments of others than the self(Aguilar, Brussino, & Fernández-Dols, 2013), this appears to be due to the specific manner in whichAguilar and colleagues (2013) operationalized their studies (i.e., by focusing on ethical dilemmas in which removing personal involvement, by imagining another party in that role, they allowed respondents to feel less responsible for the harm they might cause).…”

supporting

confidence: 88%

A Theory of Ethical Accounting and Its Implications for Hypocrisy in Organizations

Kim¹,

Wiltermuth²,

Newman³

2019

Proceedings

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Management scholars have typically regarded the widespread instances of hypocrisy across business, religious, and political institutions to be motivated and strategic. We suggest, however, that hypocrisy may stem not only from people's motivation to interpret and utilize information in a self-serving manner, but also from fundamental differences in people's access to that information itself. More specifically, we present a multi-stage Theory of Ethical Accounting (TEA) that describes how this differential access to information, specifically about the self vs. others, can create an interrelated series of cognitive distortions in how people account for the same unethical behavior. TEA posits that such distortions can allow people to believe they are being fair and consistent when appraising the morality of the self and others, while actually being inconsistent in how they do so, and describes how this can ultimately make it harder to address not only hypocrisy but unethical behavior more broadly in organizations.

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supporting

confidence: 88%

A Theory of Ethical Accounting and Its Implications for Hypocrisy in Organizations

Kim¹,

Wiltermuth²,

Newman³

2019

Proceedings

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“…At the same time, individuals in more abstract mindsets who perceive some distance between themselves and the actions proposed in moral dilemmas may be more likely to give utilitarian responses, as they might focus more on the desirable consequences of the action than on the action itself. Supporting this notion, Aguilar, Brussino, and Fernández-Dols (2013) found that participants who were told that the proposed action (performing surgery on a man and sacrificing his life to save the lives of thousands) would happen in the distant future made more utilitarian choices than those who were told that it would happen in the near future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Disfluent fonts lead to more utilitarian decisions in moral dilemmas

Spears

Fernández-Linsenbarth

Okan

et al. 2018

Psicológica Journal

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Previous research suggests that utilitarian decisions to moral dilemmas often stem from analytic, controlled cognitive processes. Furthermore, processing disfluency can trigger analytic thinking and improve performance on tasks that require logic and cognitive reflection. In the present study we investigated how processing fluency affects the readiness with which people give utilitarian responses to both personal and impersonal dilemmas. Participants were presented in two different experimental blocks with dilemmas written in both easy-(fluent) and hard-to-read (disfluent) fonts. We expected that dilemmas written in a disfluent font would be associated with more utilitarian responses. Results supported this prediction, albeit only when the disfluent dilemmas appeared first, showing that participants endorsed more utilitarian actions in the disfluent condition than in the fluent condition across dilemma types. These data suggest that increasing processing disfluency by manipulating the font affects decisions in the moral domain.People are often faced with difficult moral dilemmas that can have important life changing consequences. Accordingly, an increasing body of work has sought to identify the different factors that affect moral judgments and decisions, as well as the processes underlying people's moral choices.

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“…Experiment 1 aimed to test the effect of coldness on high-conflict personal moral dilemma judgment and whether the effect of coldness is related to construal level and deliberate thought. According to the construal level theory, utilitarian judgment relates to abstract high-level construal features (Aguilar et al, 2013 ). If coldness fosters social distance and increases psychological distance, it may set participants in a higher-level construal mindset and facilitate utilitarian judgment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In moral dilemma judgment, utilitarian judgments give priority to the ends (e.g., “to save many people”) and relate to high-level construal, whereas deontological judgments often give priority to the means (e.g., “to not push and kill an innocent man”) and relate to low-level construal. Aguilar et al ( 2013 ) showed that psychologically distant event representations, such as temporally and spatially distant events, prompt utilitarian decisions. Amit and Greene ( 2012 ) reported that visual processing, which is more concrete than verbal processing, is positively related to deontological judgment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold-hearted or cool-headed: physical coldness promotes utilitarian moral judgment

et al. 2014

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In the current study, we examine the effect of physical coldness on personal moral dilemma judgment. Previous studies have indicated that utilitarian moral judgment—sacrificing a few people to achieve the greater good for others—was facilitated when: (1) participants suppressed an initial emotional response and deliberately thought about the utility of outcomes; (2) participants had a high-level construal mindset and focused on abstract goals (e.g., save many); or (3) there was a decreasing emotional response to sacrificing a few. In two experiments, we exposed participants to extreme cold or typical room temperature and then asked them to make personal moral dilemma judgments. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that coldness prompted utilitarian judgment, but the effect of coldness was independent from deliberate thought or abstract high-level construal mindset. As Experiment 2 revealed, coldness facilitated utilitarian judgment via reduced empathic feelings. Therefore, physical coldness did not affect the “cool-headed” deliberate process or the abstract high-level construal mindset. Rather, coldness biased people toward being “cold-hearted,” reduced empathetic concern, and facilitated utilitarian moral judgments.

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Psychological distance increases uncompromising consequentialism

Cited by 33 publications

References 21 publications

A Theory of Ethical Accounting and Its Implications for Hypocrisy in Organizations

A Theory of Ethical Accounting and Its Implications for Hypocrisy in Organizations

Disfluent fonts lead to more utilitarian decisions in moral dilemmas

Cold-hearted or cool-headed: physical coldness promotes utilitarian moral judgment

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