Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries

Kelly Kirkland; Charlie R. Crimston; Jolanda Jetten; Maksim Rudnev; Cesar Acevedo-Triana; Catherine E. Amiot; Liisi Ausmees; Peter Baguma; Oumar Barry; Maja Becker; Michal Bilewicz; Watcharaporn Boonyasiriwat; Thomas Castelain; Giulio Costantini; Girts Dimdins; Agustín Espinosa; Gillian Finchilescu; Ronald Fischer; Malte Friese; Maria Cecilia Gastardo-Conaco; Ángel Gómez; Roberto González; Nobuhiko Goto; Peter Halama; Gabriela M. Jiga-Boy; Peter Kuppens; Steve Loughnan; Marijana Markovik; Khairul A. Mastor; Neil McLatchie; Lindsay M. Novak; Blessing N. Onyekachi; Müjde Peker; Muhammad Rizwan; Mark Schaller; Eunkook M. Suh; Sanaz Talaifar; Eddie M.W. Tong; Ana Torres; Rhiannon N. Turner; Paul A.M. Van Lange; Christin Melanie Vauclair; Alexander Vinogradov; Zhechen Wang; Victoria Wai Lan Yeung; Brock Bastian

doi:10.1177/19485506221101767

Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries

Kelly Kirkland^*, Charlie R. Crimston, Jolanda Jetten, Maksim Rudnev, Cesar Acevedo-Triana, Catherine E. Amiot, Liisi Ausmees, Peter Baguma, Oumar Barry, Maja Becker, Michal Bilewicz, Watcharaporn Boonyasiriwat, Thomas Castelain, Giulio Costantini, Girts Dimdins, Agustín Espinosa, Gillian Finchilescu, Ronald Fischer, Malte Friese, Maria Cecilia Gastardo-ConacoÁngel Gómez, Roberto González, Nobuhiko Goto, Peter Halama, Gabriela M. Jiga-Boy, Peter Kuppens, Steve Loughnan, Marijana Markovik, Khairul A. Mastor, Neil McLatchie, Lindsay M. Novak, Blessing N. Onyekachi, Müjde Peker, Muhammad Rizwan, Mark Schaller, Eunkook M. Suh, Sanaz Talaifar, Eddie M.W. Tong, Ana Torres, Rhiannon N. Turner, Paul A.M. Van Lange, Christin Melanie Vauclair, Alexander Vinogradov, Zhechen Wang, Victoria Wai Lan Yeung, Brock Bastian

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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Abstract

What are the things that we think matter morally, and how do societal factors influence this? To date, research has explored several individual-level and historical factors that influence the size of our ‘moral circles.' There has, however, been less attention focused on which societal factors play a role. We present the first multi-national exploration of moral expansiveness—that is, the size of people’s moral circles across countries. We found low generalized trust, greater perceptions of a breakdown in the social fabric of society, and greater perceived economic inequality were associated with smaller moral circles. Generalized trust also helped explain the effects of perceived inequality on lower levels of moral inclusiveness. Other inequality indicators (i.e., Gini coefficients) were, however, unrelated to moral expansiveness. These findings suggest that societal factors, especially those associated with generalized trust, may influence the size of our moral circles.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	305-318
Number of pages	14
Journal	Social Psychological and Personality Science
Volume	14
Issue number	3
Early online date	4 Jul 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221101767
Publication status	Published - Apr 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Brock Bastian was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (grant number DP200101446), Steve Loughnan was supported by the Philip Leverhulme Prize, Roberto González was supported by the Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAP 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006), Nobuhiko Goto was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant number 19KK0063), Girts Dimdins was supported by the Latvian Council of Science (grant number lzp-2018/1-0402), Michal Bilewicz was supported by the Polish National Science Center Grant Sonata Bis (grant number UMO-2017/26/E/HS6/00129). and Maksim Rudnev was supported by a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University).

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Brock Bastian was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (grant number DP200101446), Steve Loughnan was supported by the Philip Leverhulme Prize, Roberto González was supported by the Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAP 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006), Nobuhiko Goto was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant number 19KK0063), Girts Dimdins was supported by the Latvian Council of Science (grant number lzp-2018/1-0402), Michal Bilewicz was supported by the Polish National Science Center Grant Sonata Bis (grant number UMO-2017/26/E/HS6/00129). and Maksim Rudnev was supported by a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Brock Bastian was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (grant number DP200101446), Steve Loughnan was supported by the Philip Leverhulme Prize, Roberto González was supported by the Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAP 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006), Nobuhiko Goto was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant number 19KK0063), Girts Dimdins was supported by the Latvian Council of Science (grant number lzp-2018/1-0402), Michal Bilewicz was supported by the Polish National Science Center Grant Sonata Bis (grant number UMO-2017/26/E/HS6/00129). and Maksim Rudnev was supported by a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University). The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Brock Bastian was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (grant number DP200101446), Steve Loughnan was supported by the Philip Leverhulme Prize, Roberto González was supported by the Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAP 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006), Nobuhiko Goto was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant number 19KK0063), Girts Dimdins was supported by the Latvian Council of Science (grant number lzp-2018/1-0402), Michal Bilewicz was supported by the Polish National Science Center Grant Sonata Bis (grant number UMO-2017/26/E/HS6/00129). and Maksim Rudnev was supported by a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University).

Funders	Funder number
Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research	ANID/FONDAP 15110006
Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies	ANID/FONDAP 15130009
Polish National Science Center Grant Sonata Bis	UMO-2017/26/E/HS6/00129
Australian Research Council	DP200101446
Australian Research Council
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science	19KK0063
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Latvijas Zinātnes Padome	lzp-2018/1-0402
Latvijas Zinātnes Padome
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Centro de Estudios de Conflicto y Cohesión Social

Keywords

anomie
economic inequality
moral circles
moral expansiveness
trust

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1177/19485506221101767

Kirkland-et-al-2022_Moral-expansiveness-around-the-world-the-role-of-societal-factors-across-36-countriesFinal published version, 1.37 MBLicence: Article 25fa Dutch Copyright Act

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Kirkland, K., Crimston, C. R., Jetten, J., Rudnev, M., Acevedo-Triana, C., Amiot, C. E., Ausmees, L., Baguma, P., Barry, O., Becker, M., Bilewicz, M., Boonyasiriwat, W., Castelain, T., Costantini, G., Dimdins, G., Espinosa, A., Finchilescu, G., Fischer, R., Friese, M., ... Bastian, B. (2023). Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 14(3), 305-318. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221101767

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title = "Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries",

abstract = "What are the things that we think matter morally, and how do societal factors influence this? To date, research has explored several individual-level and historical factors that influence the size of our {\textquoteleft}moral circles.' There has, however, been less attention focused on which societal factors play a role. We present the first multi-national exploration of moral expansiveness—that is, the size of people{\textquoteright}s moral circles across countries. We found low generalized trust, greater perceptions of a breakdown in the social fabric of society, and greater perceived economic inequality were associated with smaller moral circles. Generalized trust also helped explain the effects of perceived inequality on lower levels of moral inclusiveness. Other inequality indicators (i.e., Gini coefficients) were, however, unrelated to moral expansiveness. These findings suggest that societal factors, especially those associated with generalized trust, may influence the size of our moral circles.",

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author = "Kelly Kirkland and Crimston, {Charlie R.} and Jolanda Jetten and Maksim Rudnev and Cesar Acevedo-Triana and Amiot, {Catherine E.} and Liisi Ausmees and Peter Baguma and Oumar Barry and Maja Becker and Michal Bilewicz and Watcharaporn Boonyasiriwat and Thomas Castelain and Giulio Costantini and Girts Dimdins and Agust{\'i}n Espinosa and Gillian Finchilescu and Ronald Fischer and Malte Friese and Gastardo-Conaco, {Maria Cecilia} and {\'A}ngel G{\'o}mez and Roberto Gonz{\'a}lez and Nobuhiko Goto and Peter Halama and Jiga-Boy, {Gabriela M.} and Peter Kuppens and Steve Loughnan and Marijana Markovik and Mastor, {Khairul A.} and Neil McLatchie and Novak, {Lindsay M.} and Onyekachi, {Blessing N.} and M{\"u}jde Peker and Muhammad Rizwan and Mark Schaller and Suh, {Eunkook M.} and Sanaz Talaifar and Tong, {Eddie M.W.} and Ana Torres and Turner, {Rhiannon N.} and {Van Lange}, {Paul A.M.} and Vauclair, {Christin Melanie} and Alexander Vinogradov and Zhechen Wang and Yeung, {Victoria Wai Lan} and Brock Bastian",

note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Brock Bastian was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (grant number DP200101446), Steve Loughnan was supported by the Philip Leverhulme Prize, Roberto Gonz{\'a}lez was supported by the Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAP 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006), Nobuhiko Goto was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant number 19KK0063), Girts Dimdins was supported by the Latvian Council of Science (grant number lzp-2018/1-0402), Michal Bilewicz was supported by the Polish National Science Center Grant Sonata Bis (grant number UMO-2017/26/E/HS6/00129). and Maksim Rudnev was supported by a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University). Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Brock Bastian was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) (grant number DP200101446), Steve Loughnan was supported by the Philip Leverhulme Prize, Roberto Gonz{\'a}lez was supported by the Center for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/FONDAP 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006), Nobuhiko Goto was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant number 19KK0063), Girts Dimdins was supported by the Latvian Council of Science (grant number lzp-2018/1-0402), Michal Bilewicz was supported by the Polish National Science Center Grant Sonata Bis (grant number UMO-2017/26/E/HS6/00129). and Maksim Rudnev was supported by a research project implemented as part of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2022.",

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Kirkland, K, Crimston, CR, Jetten, J, Rudnev, M, Acevedo-Triana, C, Amiot, CE, Ausmees, L, Baguma, P, Barry, O, Becker, M, Bilewicz, M, Boonyasiriwat, W, Castelain, T, Costantini, G, Dimdins, G, Espinosa, A, Finchilescu, G, Fischer, R, Friese, M, Gastardo-Conaco, MC, Gómez, Á, González, R, Goto, N, Halama, P, Jiga-Boy, GM, Kuppens, P, Loughnan, S, Markovik, M, Mastor, KA, McLatchie, N, Novak, LM, Onyekachi, BN, Peker, M, Rizwan, M, Schaller, M, Suh, EM, Talaifar, S, Tong, EMW, Torres, A, Turner, RN, Van Lange, PAM, Vauclair, CM, Vinogradov, A, Wang, Z, Yeung, VWL & Bastian, B 2023, 'Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries', Social Psychological and Personality Science, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 305-318. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221101767

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T1 - Moral Expansiveness Around the World

T2 - The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries

AU - Kirkland, Kelly

AU - Crimston, Charlie R.

AU - Jetten, Jolanda

AU - Rudnev, Maksim

AU - Acevedo-Triana, Cesar

AU - Amiot, Catherine E.

AU - Ausmees, Liisi

AU - Baguma, Peter

AU - Barry, Oumar

AU - Becker, Maja

AU - Bilewicz, Michal

AU - Boonyasiriwat, Watcharaporn

AU - Castelain, Thomas

AU - Costantini, Giulio

AU - Dimdins, Girts

AU - Espinosa, Agustín

AU - Finchilescu, Gillian

AU - Fischer, Ronald

AU - Friese, Malte

AU - Gastardo-Conaco, Maria Cecilia

AU - Gómez, Ángel

AU - González, Roberto

AU - Goto, Nobuhiko

AU - Halama, Peter

AU - Jiga-Boy, Gabriela M.

AU - Kuppens, Peter

AU - Loughnan, Steve

AU - Markovik, Marijana

AU - Mastor, Khairul A.

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AU - Novak, Lindsay M.

AU - Onyekachi, Blessing N.

AU - Peker, Müjde

AU - Rizwan, Muhammad

AU - Schaller, Mark

AU - Suh, Eunkook M.

AU - Talaifar, Sanaz

AU - Tong, Eddie M.W.

AU - Torres, Ana

AU - Turner, Rhiannon N.

AU - Van Lange, Paul A.M.

AU - Vauclair, Christin Melanie

AU - Vinogradov, Alexander

AU - Wang, Zhechen

AU - Yeung, Victoria Wai Lan

AU - Bastian, Brock

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PY - 2023/4

Y1 - 2023/4

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AB - What are the things that we think matter morally, and how do societal factors influence this? To date, research has explored several individual-level and historical factors that influence the size of our ‘moral circles.' There has, however, been less attention focused on which societal factors play a role. We present the first multi-national exploration of moral expansiveness—that is, the size of people’s moral circles across countries. We found low generalized trust, greater perceptions of a breakdown in the social fabric of society, and greater perceived economic inequality were associated with smaller moral circles. Generalized trust also helped explain the effects of perceived inequality on lower levels of moral inclusiveness. Other inequality indicators (i.e., Gini coefficients) were, however, unrelated to moral expansiveness. These findings suggest that societal factors, especially those associated with generalized trust, may influence the size of our moral circles.

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KW - moral circles

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Moral Expansiveness Around the World: The Role of Societal Factors Across 36 Countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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