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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 747-753 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Social Psychological and Personality Science |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- egalitarianism
- motivation
- morality
- social psychophysiology