Imagining our moral values in the present and future

Wylie, Jordan; Alto, Alix; Gantman, Ana P.

doi:10.1017/s0140525x21002156

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It was surprising to us that effort and perceived learning did not vary together as previous research suggests that effort and learning are linked [45]. It is possible that there is a social desirability constraint around learning from the "bad guy" or that in this domain the idea of learning is tied only to learning a moral lesson, an important feature of learning from fictional worlds [46]. This study provides preliminary evidence that there is a link between immorality and engagement-one that may emerge in spite of the effort it requires to watch shows with immoral characters and may not be apparent to viewers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Central to the present argument is that curiosity in the moral domain drives epistemic behaviors in unique ways. Moral badness and moral ambiguity are uniquely engaging because they pique curiosity for explanations (see also [85]). We find that people are also drawn to morally good agents, but for more descriptive information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People often engage with moral content in fictional worlds and may feel freer to act on this curiosity in fiction than in real life (see [41]). To better understand what kind of moral content is engaging for people, we collated data from Netflix's publicly available, most viewed TV shows and movies and had an independent sample of participants rate the morality of the main characters.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others

Wylie¹,

Gantman²

2022

Preprint

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Looking to the popularity of superheroes, true crime stories, and anti-heroic characters like Tony Soprano, we investigated whether people are curious for moral extremity, especially moral badness. Across five experiments (N = 2,284), we examine moral curiosity, testing under what conditions moral minds spark information-seeking. In Experiment 1, we find that among the most widely watched Netflix shows over a five-month period, the more immoral the protagonist, the more hours people spent watching. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we find that when given a choice to learn more about morally good, bad, ambiguous, or average others, people preferred to learn more about morally extreme, both good and bad. Experiment 3 reveals that people are more curious about explanations for morally bad and ambiguous people compared to morally good ones. Finally, Experiment 4 tests the uniqueness of curiosity for moral ambiguity. We find that people are more drawn to moral rather than aesthetic ambiguity, suggesting that ambiguity, which is cognitively taxing and sometimes avoided, piques curiosity in the moral domain. These findings suggest that deviations from moral normativity, especially badness, spur curiosity. People are often curious about the morally corrupt; villains and antiheroes alike prompt engagement rather than avoidance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others

Wylie¹,

Gantman²

2022

Preprint

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Moral Judgments

McHugh,

Wylie

2023

Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies

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People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others

Wylie

Gantman

2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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Looking to the popularity of superheroes, true crime stories, and anti-heroic characters like Tony Soprano, we investigated whether moral extremity, especially moral badness, piques curiosity. Across five experiments (N = 2429), we examine moral curiosity, testing under what conditions the moral minds of others spark explanation-seeking behavior. In Experiment 1, we find that among the most widely watched Netflix shows in the US over a five-month period, the more immoral the protagonist, the more hours people spent watching. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we find that when given a choice to learn more about morally good, bad, ambiguous, or average others, people preferred to learn more about morally extreme people, both good and bad. Experiment 3 reveals that people are more curious for explanations about (vs. descriptions of) morally bad and ambiguous people compared to morally good ones. Finally, Experiment 4 tests the uniqueness of curiosity for moral ambiguity. We find that people are more drawn to moral rather than aesthetic ambiguity, suggesting that ambiguity, which is cognitively taxing and sometimes avoided, preferentially engenders information seeking in the moral domain. These findings suggest deviations from moral normativity, especially badness, spur curiosity. People are curious about immorality and agents who differ from the norm.

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Imagining our moral values in the present and future

Cited by 3 publications

References 26 publications

People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others

People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others

Moral Judgments

People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others

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