Weighing outcome vs. intent across societies: How cultural models of mind shape moral reasoning

Cognition
Rita Anne McNamaraJoseph Henrich

Abstract

Mental state reasoning has been theorized as a core feature of how we navigate our social worlds, and as especially vital to moral reasoning. Judgments of moral wrong-doing and punish-worthiness often hinge upon evaluations of the perpetrator's mental states. In two studies, we examine how differences in cultural conceptions about how one should think about others' minds influence the relative importance of intent vs. outcome in moral judgments. We recruit participation from three societies, differing in emphasis on mental state reasoning: Indigenous iTaukei Fijians from Yasawa Island (Yasawans) who normatively avoid mental state inference in favor of focus on relationships and consequences of actions; Indo-Fijians who normatively emphasize relationships but do not avoid mental state inference; and North Americans who emphasize individual autonomy and interpreting others' behaviors as the direct result of mental states. In study 1, Yasawan participants placed more emphasis on outcome than Indo-Fijians or North Americans by judging accidents more harshly than failed attempts. Study 2 tested whether underlying differences in the salience of mental states drives study 1 effects by inducing Yasawan and North American participants t...Continue Reading

Citations

Sep 13, 2019·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Rita Anne McNamara, Tia Neha
Mar 5, 2020·Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science·Chelsea Schein
Jan 17, 2019·Cognitive Science·Aiyana K Willard, Rita A McNamara
Jun 27, 2019·Psychological Science·Joshua Rottman, Liane Young
Jan 23, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Edmond AwadJean-François Bonnefon
Oct 15, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Per SöderstenCecilia E K Bergh
Oct 14, 2020·Nature Human Behaviour·Bethany BurumMoshe Hoffman
Oct 13, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Tse-Min WangFlorian Heine
Oct 14, 2020·Annual Review of Psychology·Michael MuthukrishnaEdward Slingerland
Jan 16, 2021·Cognitive Science·Cindel J M WhiteAra Norenzayan
Jan 30, 2021·Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science·Will M Gervais
Feb 6, 2020·Physics of Life Reviews·Jordan E TheriaultLisa Feldman Barrett
Mar 27, 2021·Human Nature : an Interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective·Rita Anne McNamara, Annie E Wertz
Sep 15, 2021·Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science·Matthew J Scott
Oct 5, 2021·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·H Clark Barrett, Rebecca R Saxe
Jan 5, 2022·Annual Review of Psychology·Roberto GonzálezGloria Jiménez-Moya
Jul 28, 2021·Annual Review of Psychology·Roberto GonzálezGloria Jiménez-Moya
Sep 22, 2021·Annual Review of Psychology·H Clark Barrett

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