Date of Award
5-2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Adam Pazda
Second Advisor
Keri Weed
Third Advisor
Meredith Elzy
Abstract
Within the psychological literature of morality, little research has been done on the concept of moral superiority. The aim of this study was to determine whether a self-perception of moral superiority led to increased severity of judgment toward social issues and harsher moral action against perpetrators. Participants in the experimental condition were given a moral identity prime prior to all tasks. The results showed that the moral prime was not effective in increasing a sense of moral superiority in comparison to the control condition. Severity of judgment also did not differ between groups. There was no difference between groups on the harshness of punishment for perpetrators of littering or prostitution, but opposite to the hypothesis, the experimental group sentenced a recreational drug user to significantly less jail time than the control group did. Exploratory analyses and a discussion of morality research and future directions follows.
Recommended Citation
Shakal, Emily, "When “Right Makes Might”: Moral Superiority and its Effects on Decision-making for Others" (2018). USC Aiken Psychology Theses. 37.
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/aiken_psychology_theses/37
Included in
Developmental Psychology Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Social Psychology Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons