Are the trolley problems all relative?: Influences of kinship on moral dilemma

Meaghan N Altman, Purdue University

Abstract

Moral dilemmas are typically employed by psychologists investigating moral psychology or moral problem solving. To date these investigations have provided several insights into the nature of moral psychology. These investigations, however, exclude kinship as a variable of interest. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that one of the primary mediating variables in human social behavior is genetic relationship. Three experiments were designed to specifically test the hypothesis that kinship is a mediating variable in moral decision making. Experiment 1 tests a design used in Experiment 2. Experiment 2 used four common dilemmas from the morality literature. Most, but not all dilemmas in Experiment 2 supported the argument that kinship influences responses on moral dilemmas. Experiment 3 employed another dilemma commonly used in the literature known as the crying baby. Some current classification flaws with moral dilemmas will be discussed in light of these results.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Capaldi, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Behavioral psychology|Social psychology

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