No significant unique relation between deontological inclinations & compassion (sympathy, empathic concern)—or any other emotion-infused trait—as predicted by emotion-centered views of deontological moral judgment

Smillie, Luke D., Milena Katic, and Simon Laham. 2020. “Personality and Moral Judgment: Curious Consequentialists and Polite Deontologists (journal of Personality).” PsyArXiv. October 1. doi:10.31234/osf.io/73bfv

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1311542323139031040

Abstract

Objective: How does our personality relate to the ways in which we judge right from wrong? Drawing on influential theories of moral judgment, we identify candidate traits that may be linked with inclinations toward (a) consequentialist judgments (i.e., those based on the outcomes of an action) and (b) deontological judgments (i.e., those based on the alignment of an action with particular moral rules).

Method: Across two studies (total N = 843), we examined domains and aspects of the Big Five in relation to inclinations toward consequentialist and deontological judgments.

Results: In both studies, we found a unique association between intellect (curiosity, cognitive engagement) and consequentialist inclinations, in line with the view that deliberative cognitive processes drive such inclinations. We also found a consistent unique association between politeness (respectfulness, etiquette) and deontological inclinations, in line with the view that norm-adherence drives such inclinations. Neither study yielded a significant unique relation between deontological inclinations and compassion (sympathy, empathic concern)—or any other emotion-infused trait (e.g., neuroticism)—as would be expected based on emotion- centered views of deontological moral judgment.

Conclusions: These findings have implications for theories of moral judgment, and reveal how our personality guides our approach to questions of ethics and morality.