The what, how, and why of moralization: A review of current definitions, methods, and evidence in moralization research

2019/11/25 by Joshua J. Rhee, Chelsea Schein, Brock Bastian · 89 citations
Neuroscience · Social Sciences · Psychology · #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Cultural Differences and Values #Extant taxon #Moral disengagement #Psychology #Social cognitive theory of morality #Focus (optics) #Politics #Social psychology #Moral psychology #Process (computing) #Epistemology #Moral reasoning #Political science #Law

paper · open access · doi:10.1111/spc3.12511

published in Social and Personality Psychology Compass 13(12) (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2019/11/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15

Abstract

Abstract Moralization has major social and political implications. Although there is a depth of research on the nature and implications of moral attitudes and moral convictions, there has been less of a focus on the psychological processes by which actions, attitudes, or entities become moralized, or move from lesser to greater moral significance, and the research that does exist is highly fragmented. In the present paper, we provide a two‐factor structure for understanding the current state of research on moralization, categorizing extant moralization research by (1) whether it examines judgments of actions, attitudes, or entities and (2) whether it captures moral recognition (the shift from neutral to moral), or moral amplification. Using this framework, we then consider the various routes through which moralization may occur, discuss emerging research on the influence that social norms can have on this process, and address future areas of research. Overall, we hope to provide some initial steps toward developing a more integrated framework for understanding moralization.

Citations

• An Action-Based Model of Cognitive-Dissonance Processes
• Do cultural values predict individuals' moral attitudes? A cross‐cultural multilevel approach
• The Behavioral Immune System (and Why It Matters)
• Don’t Mind Meat? The Denial of Mind to Animals Used for Human Consumption
• Time, Money, and Morality
• Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations.
• The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment.
• Are sexualized women complete human beings? Why men and women dehumanize sexually objectified women
• The Process of Moralization
• The New Synthesis in Moral Psychology
• Moral Conviction: Another Contributor to Attitude Strength or Something More?
• When Morality Opposes Justice: Conservatives Have Moral Intuitions that Liberals may not Recognize
• Advances In Experimental Social Psychology

Cited by

• The Psychology of Moral Conviction
• Moral psychology [wikipedia]

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• The Psychology of Moral Conviction
• The Psychology of Morality: A Review and Analysis of Empirical Studies Published From 1940 Through 2017
• Moralized Rationality: Relying on Logic and Evidence in the Formation and Evaluation of Belief Can Be Seen as a Moral Issue
• Mapping the moral domain.
• Methods, Models, and the Evolution of Moral Psychology