A survey by Xiaojing Sheng and Penny Simpson found that reading privacy policies can lead to decreased trust in providers, with over a quarter of respondents citing complexity as the main reason for not reading them. Almost one third of respondents expressed concern about their private information being shared or sold.
Research suggests shame is a destructive emotion that hinders social connections. Professor Thomas Scheff argues that shame can manifest in larger conflicts like wars due to the reaction to it being hidden behind rationality. A good laugh is suggested as a way to resolve hidden shame, according to Scheff.
Research finds that thinking about time reduces cheating behavior by encouraging self-reflection, whereas priming people to think about money makes them more likely to cheat. This study suggests that boosting self-reflection might be an effective way to curb dishonesty.
Researchers discovered that self-control decreases over the course of a day, leading to increased dishonesty in the afternoon. Participants were more likely to cheat or engage in unethical behavior when tested later in the day.
A study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines how low-income consumers negotiate their social status within a resource-restrained and stigmatized community. The research reveals five distinct social groups with varying moral values and approaches to life in the trailer park.
Research suggests that people attribute more mind to entities perceived as targets of harm, including robots and corpses. This finding implies that moral intuitions lead to subjective perceptions of minds, which can influence decision-making on contentious issues like animal rights and end-of-life decisions.
A new brain study suggests that recognizing intentionality is the first step in moral computations, linking emotion to morality. The study found that adults can detect intentional harm within 60 milliseconds, triggering an emotional response.
Researchers found that moral judgments are made faster and more extreme than practical ones, but also revealed flexibility in how we consider decisions as moral or non-moral. The study showed that judgments based on morality can be readily shifted to practical considerations and vice versa.
A new study in Journal of Consumer Research found that consumers justify continued support for a celebrity or politician disgraced by scandal by separating moral judgments from professional performance. This allows them to avoid condoning immoral behavior and continue buying products endorsed by the public figure.
Researchers found that people attribute human characteristics and moral accountability to humanoid robots that can harm humans, even in non-life-threatening situations. This suggests that as robots become more sophisticated, they may be held responsible for causing harm.
A recent study published in Psychological Science found that suppressing compassionate feelings can lead to a decrease in morality. When participants were instructed not to feel sympathy or distress, they reported feeling less committed to following moral rules and being more flexible about morality.
A new study analyzing 40 years' worth of voter data suggests that Americans perceive more political polarization than actual differences exist between parties. Contrary to popular belief, those who perceive greater polarization are more likely to engage in politics, attend rallies, or donate to a party.
A study by Michigan State University researchers found that 90% of participants would reroute a runaway boxcar onto tracks with only one person, overriding the moral rule not to kill. The experiment explored how people come to their moral judgments and whether behavior follows suit.
A study by Daniel Bartels and David Pizarro found a strong link between utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas and psychopathic, Machiavellian personality traits. Individuals with these traits are more likely to prioritize overall consequences over personal feelings and values.
A study by Rimma Teper and colleagues found that people's predicted moral actions don't always align with their actual behavior. The researchers discovered that emotions play a crucial role in driving moral decisions, particularly when individuals are contemplating their actions rather than facing the consequences of those actions.
A new study by researchers at the University of Maryland and Harvard University suggests that people who highlight past suffering are held less responsible for transgressions. In contrast, heroes receive more blame than villains, regardless of their previous good deeds.
Researchers found that coaches provide moral guidance, with athletes evaluating the coach-athlete relationship before accepting ethical teachings. The study also identified four core moral values: discipline, respect, enjoyment of the sport, and striving to win.
Early modern Ottoman coffeehouses offered patrons a space for transgressive pleasures, challenging state and religious authority. The establishments fostered the formation of a new consumer subject, resisting state prescriptions and constructing self-ethics.
A new study suggests that emotions are crucial for making moral judgments. Patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC) have difficulty responding emotionally to hypothetical situations and may judge others' actions as morally permissible even if they intended harm.
A new study suggests that morality and religion are linked but distinct concepts. Experimental moral psychology reveals that individuals' moral judgments operate independently of explicit religious commitments.
Two Cornell University studies found a correlation between being more easily disgusted and political conservatism, particularly in attitudes toward gays and lesbians. Disgust sensitivity was linked to opposition to gay marriage and abortion, but not to other issues.
Research reveals marked gender and race differences in children's moral behaviors, both in the real and virtual worlds. African American children were more likely to view morally questionable virtual behaviors as acceptable when they benefited individual goals.
A study by U of T psychologists reveals a connection between moral disgust and primitive emotions related to poison and disease. The research found that people display similar facial movements in response to both moral and primitive forms of disgust.
A study by Boaz Keysar and colleagues found that negative reciprocity, or taking, escalates in social exchanges, leading to irrational feuds. In contrast, acts of giving are perceived as more generous, encouraging pro-social exchanges.
A new study by Yu Chen found that buying and viewing art share similar benefits, including the desire for aesthetics, sociality, and novelty. Collectors and visitors to galleries share common values but differ in their motivations, with collectors seeking a long-term intimate relationship with artworks.
David Sloan Wilson and Edward O. Wilson propose a new consensus and theoretical foundation for sociobiology, affirming Darwin's original conjecture that natural selection is a multilevel process. They show that adaptations can evolve at all levels of the biological hierarchy, from genes to ecosystems.
A new study published in Psychological Science presents a twist on the conventional understanding of narcissism. Researchers found that narcissists actually view themselves positively in agentic domains, such as status and dominance, but not in communal domains like kindness and emotional intimacy.
Researchers found that people perceive the minds of others along two distinct dimensions: agency (self-control, morality) and experience (feelings, sensations). This framework sheds light on moral and legal decisions and highlights the subjective nature of perceiving mental attributes in others.
Researchers found that higher religiosity levels in countries do not necessarily lead to stricter moral standards on sex. In fact, individual religiosity has a minimal effect on cheating on taxes due to existing laws.
A study by Ohio State University found that employees are more likely to steal from their companies if there is no ethics program in place. However, employees who already exhibit honest behavior are more likely to be prevented from stealing by the presence of an ethics program.