Moral psychology is relationship regulation: Moral motives for unity, hierarchy, equality, and proportionality.
Abstract
Genuine moral disagreement exists and is widespread. To understand such disagreement, we must examine the basic kinds of social relationships people construct across cultures and the distinct moral obligations and prohibitions these relationships entail. We extend relational models theory (Fiske, 1991) to identify 4 fundamental and distinct moral motives. Unity is the motive to care for and support the integrity of in-groups by avoiding or eliminating threats of contamination and providing aid and protection based on need or empathic compassion. Hierarchy is the motive to respect rank in social groups where superiors are entitled to deference and respect but must also lead, guide, direct, and protect subordinates. Equality is the motive for balanced, in-kind reciprocity, equal treatment, equal say, and equal opportunity. Proportionality is the motive for rewards and punishments to be proportionate to merit, benefits to be calibrated to contributions, and judgments to be based on a utilitarian calculus of costs and benefits. The 4 moral motives are universal, but cultures, ideologies, and individuals differ in where they activate these motives and how they implement them. Unlike existing theories (Haidt, 2007; Hauser, 2006; Turiel, 1983), relationship regulation theory predicts that any action, including violence, unequal treatment, and "impure" acts, may be perceived as morally correct depending on the moral motive employed and how the relevant social relationship is construe…
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People can flexibly construe and evaluate the same actions as moral or not.
“We are not the first to suggest that people can flexibly construe and evaluate the same actions as moral or not [37].”
From The Importance of Moral Construal: Moral versus Non-Moral Construal Elicits Faster, More Extreme, Universal Evaluations of the Same Actions (2012) · cites this paper as [37]
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- Authors
- Rai, T. S., & Fiske, A. P.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Venue
- Psychological Review
- Published
- 2011-01
- Volume
- 118
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 57-75
- ISSN
- 0033-295X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1471
- OpenAlex
- W2018738210
- Cited by
- 887
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 59 · 2025: 90 · 2024: 64 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 72 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 83 · 2018: 68 · 2017: 64 · 2016: 44 · 2015: 48 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 19.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- moral psychology, moral motives, relational models theory, moral disagreement, empathy, social rank, reciprocity, utilitarianism, moral judgment
- MeSH terms
- Cultural Characteristics, Emotions, Hierarchy, Social, Humans, Judgment, Morals, Motivation, Psychological Theory, Psychology, Social, Religion and Psychology, Social Justice, Social Responsibility, Violence
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