At the Heart of Egalitarianism: How Morality Framing Shapes Cardiovascular Challenge Versus Threat in Whites

Serena Does*, Belle Derks, Naomi Ellemers, Daan Scheepers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Work on morality framing has demonstrated that emphasizing moral ideals (vs. obligations) elicits positive intergroup attitudes among Whites (Does, Derks, & Ellemers, 2011). The current research goes beyond self-reported attitudes, by examining the effect of morality framing on more automatic, less consciously controlled responses of Whites. We tested the hypothesis that morality framing affects Whites' appraisals of equality as challenging (vs. threatening) by measuring cardiovascular reactivity. Thirty-seven native Dutch participants gave an oral presentation of social equality in terms of moral ideals versus obligations, while we measured their motivations with cardiovascular (i.e., challenge vs. threat; Blascovich & Tomaka, 1996) and behavioral (i.e., eager vs. vigilant goal pursuit; Higgins, 1997) indicators. As hypothesized, and in contrast to the obligations frame, the ideals frame was found to motivate advantaged group members to approach and view equality as more of a challenge than a threat.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)747-753
Number of pages7
JournalSocial Psychological and Personality Science
Volume3
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • egalitarianism
  • motivation
  • morality
  • social psychophysiology

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