The development and consequences of moral essentialism

Heiphetz, Larisa

doi:10.1016/bs.acdb.2020.05.006

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 104 publications

(119 reference statements)

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“…Past work led to two competing possibilities regarding how views about the impact of punishment on moral character might differ among children and adults. On the one hand, elementary schoolers are typically more likely than adults to view the social world through an essentialist lens (e.g., Chalik et al, 2017; Heiphetz et al, 2017; Hussak & Cimpian, 2019; Taylor et al, 2009), including when reasoning about moral character (Heiphetz, 2019, 2020). In other words, elementary schoolers are typically more likely than adults to view human characteristics—including moral character—as unchangeable, innate, and rooted in biology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although both children and adults endorse the idea that essences exist (for a review, see Rhodes & Mandalaywala, 2017), elementary schoolers typically report more essentialist perspectives than do adults (e.g., Chalik, Leslie, & Rhodes, 2017; Heiphetz, Gelman, & Young, 2017; Hussak & Cimpian, 2019; Taylor, Rhodes, & Gelman, 2009). Crucially, recent work has documented age‐related decreases in essentialist reasoning within the moral domain (for a review, see Heiphetz, 2020). Such studies have shown that children are more likely than adults to attribute punishment to an internal “bad” essence (Dunlea & Heiphetz, 2020) and to perceive moral badness as arising from an internal, unchanging source (Heiphetz, 2019).…”

Section: How Might Age‐related Changes In Socio‐moral Cognition Shape Views About the Impact Of Punishment On Moral Character?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Children’s and Adults’ Views of Punishment as a Path to Redemption

Dunlea

Heiphetz

2021

Child Development

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The current work investigated the extent to which children (N=171 6‐ to 8‐year‐olds) and adults (N = 94) view punishment as redemptive. In Study 1, children—but not adults—reported that “mean” individuals became “nicer” after one severe form of punishment (incarceration). Moreover, adults expected “nice” individuals’ moral character to worsen following punishment; however, we did not find that children expected such a change. Study 2 extended these findings by showing that children view “mean” individuals as becoming “nicer” following both severe (incarceration) and relatively minor (time‐out) punishments, suggesting that the pattern of results from Study 1 generalizes across punishment types. Together, these studies indicate that children—but not adults—may view punishment as a vehicle for redemption.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How Might Age‐related Changes In Socio‐moral Cognition Shape Views About the Impact Of Punishment On Moral Character?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s and Adults’ Views of Punishment as a Path to Redemption

Dunlea

Heiphetz

2021

Child Development

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“…Such dynamics are not limited to Muppet Kids, as actual children also seek out information about why social phenomena occur from more knowledgeable social partners (Callanan & Oakes, 1992;Legare, Wellman, & Gelman, 2009;Lombrozo, 2012). Importantly, the types of information children hear about why an event occurs can shape their social cognition (e.g., their attitudes toward a given individual, Heiphetz, 2020;Rhodes & Mandalaywala, 2017). Extrapolating to the current example, any information that Alex might have provided for the reason behind his father's incarceration could have influenced Abby's and Rosita's attitudes toward Alex's father.…”

Section: Language Shapes Children's Attitudes: Consequences Of Internal Behavioral and Societal Information In Punitive And Non-punitive mentioning

confidence: 99%

Language shapes children’s attitudes: Consequences of internal, behavioral, and societal information in punitive and nonpunitive contexts.

Dunlea¹,

Heiphetz²

2022

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Research has probed the consequences of providing people with different types of information regarding why a person possesses a certain characteristic. However, this work has largely examined the consequences of different information subsets (e.g., information focusing on internal versus societal causes). Less work has compared several types of information within the same paradigm. Using the legal system as an example domain, we provided children (N=198 6to 8-year-olds) with several types of information-including information highlighting internal moral character, internal biological factors, behavioral factors, and societal factors-about why a specific outcome (incarceration) might occur. We examined how such language shaped children's attitudes. In Study 1, children reported the most positivity toward people who were incarcerated for societal reasons and the least positivity toward people who were incarcerated for their internal moral character; attitudes linked with behavioral information fell between these extremes. Studies 2a-2b suggested that Study 1's effects could not be fully explained by participants drawing different about individuals in Study 1. Study 3 replicated Study 1's results and showed that information linking incarceration with internal biological factors led to more positivity than information linking incarceration with internal moral character. Finally, Study 4 suggested that the patterns found in Studies 1 and 3 generalize to non-punitive contexts.Moreover, Study 4 found that the effects in Studies 1 and 3 emerged regardless of whether information was communicated via explanations or descriptions. These results demonstrate that how we express our beliefs about social phenomena shape the realities in which others live.

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“…To address this question, additional research into beliefs about evil will be important. Extant research has uncovered individual differences in beliefs about the existence of evil (Bastian et al, 2015;Webster and Saucier, 2013; see also Heiphetz, 2020;Martin and Heiphetz, in press).…”

Section: The Role Of Beliefs About Evil and The True Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘They’re Not True Humans’: Beliefs About Moral Character Drive Denials of Humanity

Phillips

2021

Preprint

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In examining the cognitive processes that drive dehumanization, laboratory-based research has focused on non-categorical denials of humanity. Here, we examine the conditions under which people are willing to categorically deny that someone else is human. In doing so, we argue that people harbor a dual character concept of humanity. Research has found that dual character concepts have two independent sets of criteria for their application, one of which is normative. Across four experiments, we found evidence that people deploy one criterion according to which being human is a matter of being a Homo sapiens; as well as a normative criterion according to which being human is a matter of possessing a deep-seated commitment to do the morally right thing. Importantly, we found that people are willing to affirm that someone is human in the species sense, but deny that they are human in the normative sense, and vice versa. These findings suggest that categorical denials of humanity are not confined to extreme cases outside the laboratory. They also suggest a solution to “the paradox of dehumanization.”

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The development and consequences of moral essentialism

Cited by 22 publications

References 104 publications

Children’s and Adults’ Views of Punishment as a Path to Redemption

Children’s and Adults’ Views of Punishment as a Path to Redemption

Language shapes children’s attitudes: Consequences of internal, behavioral, and societal information in punitive and nonpunitive contexts.

‘They’re Not True Humans’: Beliefs About Moral Character Drive Denials of Humanity

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