Morals are Relative, Even at PopTech!
Oct/20/2011 18:10 Filed in: Current Events
The rain has finally relented here in Camden, ME, and PopTech is as insightful an experience as ever. In fact, the participants in Dave's seminar on the Science of Character gained some new insight into their own minds -- namely how relative their morals can be. Data after the jump.
As those of you familiar with Carlo's and Dave's work know, one of the factors that guides moral views of others is how similar they are to us. As a demonstration, the members of Dave's seminar at PopTech all put on either a red or orange wristband, although they didn't really know why they were doing so. They then watched a video of someone (who just happened to be wearing a red wristband) cheat on a task in the lab. The participant's had to judge just how bad this transgression was. Now, if the scale of morality were fixed, there shouldn't have been any difference on average in how those wearing the different color wristbands viewed the cheater. But the scales of morality aren't fixed -- they're quite subject to similarity constraints.
As you can see below, people who were wearing red wristbands (the same color as the cheater) viewed his actions as less immoral than did those wearing orange wristbands. For the statistically inclined among you, the difference was a significant one (p < .04).
The first step in rebalancing our morals, then, is to recognize just how deeply some of our biases go. Thanks to everyone who took part in the seminar!
As you can see below, people who were wearing red wristbands (the same color as the cheater) viewed his actions as less immoral than did those wearing orange wristbands. For the statistically inclined among you, the difference was a significant one (p < .04).
The first step in rebalancing our morals, then, is to recognize just how deeply some of our biases go. Thanks to everyone who took part in the seminar!
