The Illusion of Moral Superiority
نویسندگان
چکیده
Most people strongly believe they are just, virtuous, and moral; yet regard the average person as distinctly less so. This invites accusations of irrationality in moral judgment and perception-but direct evidence of irrationality is absent. Here, we quantify this irrationality and compare it against the irrationality in other domains of positive self-evaluation. Participants (N = 270) judged themselves and the average person on traits reflecting the core dimensions of social perception: morality, agency, and sociability. Adapting new methods, we reveal that virtually all individuals irrationally inflated their moral qualities, and the absolute and relative magnitude of this irrationality was greater than that in the other domains of positive self-evaluation. Inconsistent with prevailing theories of overly positive self-belief, irrational moral superiority was not associated with self-esteem. Taken together, these findings suggest that moral superiority is a uniquely strong and prevalent form of "positive illusion," but the underlying function remains unknown.
منابع مشابه
Can speciesism be a moral illusion?
The Müller-Lyer figure is a famous optical illusion where we think two line segments have different lengths, although the lengths are in fact equal. If our brains generate optical illusions, we might ask ourselves the question whether moral illusions can exist, how we can detect them and what we can learn from them. In this article we argue that speciesism – the difference in moral status betwe...
متن کاملMORAL SUPERIORITY AND MORAL BEHAVIOR 1 Investigating the relationship between self-perceived moral superiority and moral behavior using economic games
متن کامل
Superiority illusion arises from resting-state brain networks modulated by dopamine.
The majority of individuals evaluate themselves as superior to average. This is a cognitive bias known as the "superiority illusion." This illusion helps us to have hope for the future and is deep-rooted in the process of human evolution. In this study, we examined the default states of neural and molecular systems that generate this illusion, using resting-state functional MRI and PET. Resting...
متن کاملFiscal Illusion in Iranian Economy Emphasizing the Five-Dimensional Indicators and the NARDL Approach
The phenomenon of fiscal illusion has always been an intriguing topic in the public finance literature. Fiscal illusion is a concept in which misinterpretation of fiscal parameters and tax expenses and liabilities lead to bias in budgetary decision making at all levels of the government. The current research presents an empirical analysis of the fiscal illusion in the Iranian economy, using fiv...
متن کاملThe Tax and Petroleum Revenue Effect on Iran’s Public Expenditures (1994–2015), Employing Fiscal Illusion Approach
I ncreased expenditures and the government size is an important issue in public sector economics. In this regard, various theories have been developed in order to justify the reasons for the public expenditure growth, and the theories have been empirically tested. One of the outlooks explaining the government expenditures growth and the economy size, is fiscal illusion approach. According ...
متن کامل