Overcoming the Cognitive/Moral Divide: How Beliefs about Poverty Lead to Welfare Policy Support

• In Event: 500 - Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Paper Session. Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity

Abstract

Theories of action have artificially separated people’s beliefs about “what is” and “what ought to be,” arguing instead that actions are driven only by the former. Recent work has found that morality (ideas of “what ought to be”) is a key motivation for action, yet the origins of morality remain unknown. Using interview data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, I inductively uncover systematic variations in people’s beliefs about “what is,” and, employing original experimental manipulations, show how these beliefs are causally related to moral orientation.

Author

• Lauren Valentino, Duke University