Title |
Cold-hearted or cool-headed: physical coldness promotes utilitarian moral judgment
|
---|---|
Published in |
Frontiers in Psychology, October 2014
|
DOI | 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01086 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Hiroko Nakamura, Yuichi Ito, Yoshiko Honma, Takuya Mori, Jun Kawaguchi |
Abstract |
In the current study, we examine the effect of physical coldness on personal moral dilemma judgment. Previous studies have indicated that utilitarian moral judgment-sacrificing a few people to achieve the greater good for others-was facilitated when: (1) participants suppressed an initial emotional response and deliberately thought about the utility of outcomes; (2) participants had a high-level construal mindset and focused on abstract goals (e.g., save many); or (3) there was a decreasing emotional response to sacrificing a few. In two experiments, we exposed participants to extreme cold or typical room temperature and then asked them to make personal moral dilemma judgments. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that coldness prompted utilitarian judgment, but the effect of coldness was independent from deliberate thought or abstract high-level construal mindset. As Experiment 2 revealed, coldness facilitated utilitarian judgment via reduced empathic feelings. Therefore, physical coldness did not affect the "cool-headed" deliberate process or the abstract high-level construal mindset. Rather, coldness biased people toward being "cold-hearted," reduced empathetic concern, and facilitated utilitarian moral judgments. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 6 | 21% |
United Kingdom | 4 | 14% |
Finland | 2 | 7% |
India | 1 | 3% |
Canada | 1 | 3% |
Japan | 1 | 3% |
Germany | 1 | 3% |
Comoros | 1 | 3% |
Singapore | 1 | 3% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 11 | 38% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 18 | 62% |
Scientists | 7 | 24% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 7% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 7% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Spain | 1 | 1% |
Colombia | 1 | 1% |
Unknown | 69 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Master | 18 | 25% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 15 | 21% |
Student > Bachelor | 10 | 14% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 7% |
Professor | 3 | 4% |
Other | 10 | 14% |
Unknown | 10 | 14% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 37 | 52% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 6 | 8% |
Neuroscience | 4 | 6% |
Social Sciences | 4 | 6% |
Mathematics | 1 | 1% |
Other | 6 | 8% |
Unknown | 13 | 18% |