Strategies of Morality

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

In this project the Principal Investigator develops an approach to understanding moral judgment as determined by bargaining power and applies it to test several hypotheses of critical importance to the interdisciplinary science of morality. These questions include ascertaining (1) to what extent moral emotions and judgments are used as "bargaining" tools in moral disputes, (2) how important third party concerns relative to one?s own interests are in the process of moral judgment and action, and (3) how the tradeoff between "self-other" concerns affects morally-relevant behavior? Experiments on dilemmas that involve self-regard versus regard for others and the costs and benefits of harm committed against few for the benefit of many will be conducted to examine both the extent of self-serving bias and concomitant physiological reactions as coalition support and common knowledge vary. The work will provide a deeper understanding of the psychological machinery that produces biases in moral judgments and behavior. The project is informed by theory and research in philosophy, economics, cognitive psychology, evolutionary biology, and social psychology. Insights from these disciplines frame an approach to understanding moral judgment as the emergent properties of interactions among strategic agents. The research employs techniques that include virtual reality, psychophysiological measurement, moral dilemmas, and bargaining games with "real" payoff outcomes. The research balances the benefits of ecological validity versus experimental control by measuring moral judgment in questionnaires, as well as in behavior in virtual and in standard environments.