Perceived moral essentialism as a component of culturally evolved norm psychology : Complex test with real-world data

CHVAJA, Radim. Perceived moral essentialism as a component of culturally evolved norm psychology : Complex test with real-world data. In CES 2022 (Cultural Evolution Society), 21-23 September, Aarhus, Denmark. 2022.

Basic information

• Original name: Perceived moral essentialism as a component of culturally evolved norm psychology : Complex test with real-world data
• Authors: CHVAJA, Radim.
• Edition: CES 2022 (Cultural Evolution Society), 21-23 September, Aarhus, Denmark, 2022.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60304 Religious studies
• Country of publisher: Denmark
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords in English: moral essentialism; moral objectivity; norm psychology; cultural evolution; moral cognition; tightness-looseness
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

It is argued that norm psychology evolved through gene-culture coevolution and currently plays a crucial role in human ability to live in large societies. However, the specific features of norm psychology are not yet fully examined. This paper is focused on the perception of moral essentialism (umbrella term for perceived absolutism, universalism, and objectivism of moral norms). Cultural group selection favors groups with prosocial norms and when these norms are strong and stable, selection favors individuals with norm psychology that helps them to comply with the norms. I investigated whether moral essentialism could be part of such norm psychology in three studies using large-scale datasets from the US. First, Pew Religious Landscapes, Tightness-Looseness index, and FBI Crime Reports show that normatively tighter states in the US have more moral absolutists, and that the percentage of moral absolutists is negatively associated with the number of robberies (N=50). Second, data from World Values Survey suggest that moral absolutists justify transgressions against societal norms less than relativists across the US (N~5000). Finally, data from the National Study of Youth and Religion suggest that moral essentialists in the US benefit by being less likely punished by the local legal system (N~2000).