Once a Utilitarian, Consistently a Utilitarian? Examining Principledness in Moral Judgment via the Robustness of Individual Differences

• DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12256
• Publication Date: 2016-04-02T16:36:16Z
• Authors: Erik G. Helzer; William Fleeson; R. Michael Furr; Peter Meindl; Maxwell Barranti
• Keywords: Utilitarianism; Affect; Intuition

Although individual differences in the application of moral principles, such as utilitarianism, have been documented, so too powerful context effects-effects that raise doubts about durability people's principles. In this article, we examine robustness judgment by examining them across time and different decision contexts. Study 1, consistency utilitarian 122 adult participants was examined over two survey sessions. Studies 2A 2B, large samples (Ns = 130 327, respectively) made a series 32 judgments eight contexts are known to affect endorsement. Contrary some contemporary theorizing, our results reveal strong degree judgment. Across experimental manipulations context, individuals maintained their relative standing on aggregated decisions reached levels near-perfect consistency. Results support view at least one dimension (utilitarianism), robustly consistent, with effects tailoring principles particulars any given