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Making moral principles suit yourself.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Stanley, ML; Henne, P; Niemi, L; Sinnott-Armstrong, W; De Brigard, F
Published in: Psychonomic bulletin & review
October 2021

Normative ethical theories and religious traditions offer general moral principles for people to follow. These moral principles are typically meant to be fixed and rigid, offering reliable guides for moral judgment and decision-making. In two preregistered studies, we found consistent evidence that agreement with general moral principles shifted depending upon events recently accessed in memory. After recalling their own personal violations of moral principles, participants agreed less strongly with those very principles-relative to participants who recalled events in which other people violated the principles. This shift in agreement was explained, in part, by people's willingness to excuse their own moral transgressions, but not the transgressions of others. These results have important implications for understanding the roles memory and personal identity in moral judgment. People's commitment to moral principles may be maintained when they recall others' past violations, but their commitment may wane when they recall their own violations.

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Published In

Psychonomic bulletin & review

DOI

EISSN

1531-5320

ISSN

1069-9384

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

28

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1735 / 1741

Related Subject Headings

  • Self Concept
  • Morals
  • Mental Recall
  • Judgment
  • Humans
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Ethical Theory
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
 

Citation

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Stanley, M. L., Henne, P., Niemi, L., Sinnott-Armstrong, W., & De Brigard, F. (2021). Making moral principles suit yourself. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 28(5), 1735–1741. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-01935-8
Stanley, Matthew L., Paul Henne, Laura Niemi, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, and Felipe De Brigard. “Making moral principles suit yourself.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 28, no. 5 (October 2021): 1735–41. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-01935-8.
Stanley ML, Henne P, Niemi L, Sinnott-Armstrong W, De Brigard F. Making moral principles suit yourself. Psychonomic bulletin & review. 2021 Oct;28(5):1735–41.
Stanley, Matthew L., et al. “Making moral principles suit yourself.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, vol. 28, no. 5, Oct. 2021, pp. 1735–41. Epmc, doi:10.3758/s13423-021-01935-8.
Stanley ML, Henne P, Niemi L, Sinnott-Armstrong W, De Brigard F. Making moral principles suit yourself. Psychonomic bulletin & review. 2021 Oct;28(5):1735–1741.
Journal cover image

Published In

Psychonomic bulletin & review

DOI

EISSN

1531-5320

ISSN

1069-9384

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

28

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1735 / 1741

Related Subject Headings

  • Self Concept
  • Morals
  • Mental Recall
  • Judgment
  • Humans
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Ethical Theory
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology