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from the I'm-morally-opposed-to-statements-about-morality dept.
Simply telling people that their opinions are based on morality will make them stronger and more resistant to counterarguments, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that people were more likely to act on an opinion - what psychologists call an attitude - if it was labeled as moral and were more resistant to attempts to change their mind on that subject.
The results show why appeals to morality by politicians and advocacy groups can be so effective, said Andrew Luttrell, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology at The Ohio State University.
"The perception that an attitude we hold is based on morality is enough to strengthen it," Luttrell said.
"For many people, morality implies a universality, an ultimate truth. It is a conviction that is not easily changed."
The key finding was how easy it was to strengthen people's beliefs by using the 'moral' label, said Richard Petty, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State.
"Morality can act as a trigger - you can attach the label to nearly any belief and instantly make that belief stronger," Petty said.
Always preface your comments with, "The Lord sayeth..."
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Friday June 03 2016, @05:04AM
Question: why are you willing to accept accounts of Confucius as "historical" but not Moses? What is your basis for accepting one but not the other? I am genuinely curious!
Confucius was better documented and emulated by a lot more people in his time. The story of Moses has evolved over many more centuries than the tales of Confucius. I doubt it has much resemblance to the original events. For example, most of the Old Testament, including the Book of Leviticus, is heavily tainted by propaganda during the Babylon exile period (which let us note, is at or before the birth of Confucius, so the golden rule as expressed in the Bible probably would still predate Confucius) and after.
Now, maybe Moses did state the golden rule, but it's hard to square that with the stories of merciless Hebrew invaders in the decades after his death.