More than a feeling: When emotional reactions don't predict moral judgments

Zachary Horne, Derek Powell

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Many moral psychologists have proposed that the difference between people's moral judgments about the Trolley and Footbridge dilemmas can be explained by their differing emotional responses to the dilemmas. In two experiments, we tested this explanation by presenting the dilemmas and measuring participants' reactions using a self-report emotion measure (PANAS-X). As might be expected, participants experienced more intense emotions after reading moral dilemmas when compared to a non-moral dilemma. However, participants' emotional reactions to the Trolley and Footbridge dilemmas did not differ. Our findings call the oft cited emotion explanation into question.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCooperative Minds
Subtitle of host publicationSocial Interaction and Group Dynamics - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2013
EditorsMarkus Knauff, Natalie Sebanz, Michael Pauen, Ipke Wachsmuth
PublisherThe Cognitive Science Society
Pages615-620
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9780976831891
StatePublished - 2013
Event35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - Cooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics, CogSci 2013 - Berlin, Germany
Duration: Jul 31 2013Aug 3 2013

Publication series

NameCooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2013

Conference

Conference35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - Cooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics, CogSci 2013
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityBerlin
Period7/31/138/3/13

Keywords

  • decision making
  • emotion
  • moral psychology
  • PANAS-X

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

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