Happy Victimizer and Moral Motivation: Findings and Interpretations

• In Event: Moral Motivation: State of the Art in an Upcoming Research Field

Abstract

The two studies to be reported focus on the development and the characteristics of moral motivation.
They are situated in a cognitivist theoretical framework yet depart from Kohlberg’s approach inasmuch as they question his basic assumption of cognitive-affective parallelism. Based on a cognitive theory of emotions according to which emotions are (albeit global and rash) judgments of the subjective importance of objectively given facts, moral motivation is measured by justified emotion attributions to a wrongdoer. Younger children tend to ascribe positive emotions (happy victimizer phenomenon). Meanwhile, the action relevance of such attributions is quite well established.
The first study, a longitudinal study of a representative sample of 200 children, analyzed the growth of moral motivation and the types of concerns motivating norm conforming. At ages 4, 6, 8 children were presented 4 moral conflicts, i.e. situations in which familiar norms and personal desires are in contradiction (e.g. protagonist is tempted to take a playmate’s sweets). After moral knowledge was controlled for the protagonist was shown to transgress the norm and fulfill his/her desires (e.g. he/she stole). The test question was: ‘How does protagonist feel? Why does he/she feel this way?’ At ages 17 and 23 subjects had to make and justify actions decisions in 5 moral conflicts and say how they would feel and why.
The second study explored the hypothesis that there is a socio-historical change in the way in which moral motivation is anchored in the personality. 100 participants of each of three cohorts – 65-80-, 40-50-, and 20-30- year olds – were to rate 36 emotional reactions on a 6-point scale (Q-sort) as to how likely they were to experience each of them had they committed a grave transgression (cheating on one’s father’s last will). These reactions operationalized religious concerns, fear of social or of inner sanctions, need for conformity, regret, moral indifference.
In agreement with domain theory the data show that all children from early on understand moral rules to be intrinsically valid. Moral motivation is built up in a second differential learning process. Those who care about morality follow moral rules because they want to do what is right. What is right in a given situation needs to be determined by a concretely contextualized moral judgment. Thus, moral motivation is tied to moral judgment. This intrinsic moral commitment is a modern type of moral motivation. The older generations are characterized by rigid super-ego controls and a deeply ingrained conformity disposition. This change in the structure of moral motivation can be seen as a correlate of socio-historical changes in moral understanding and in socialization styles.
Traditionally, moral motivation has been analyzed in behavioristic and psychoanalytic terms. Kohlberg denied motivation an independent status. The present approach attempts to conceptualize a cognitive type of moral motivation. The findings presented need replication.

Author

• Gertrud Nunner-Winkler, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany