Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, and Moral Reasoning

Room 58:12

Political and social polarization in the US is at its worst since the Civil War

Source: Haidt ‘s presentation at Swathmore

WHY WON’T “THEY” SEE REASON?!

What psychology and neuroscience suggest may be hindering our communication

Our brain evolved mechanisms better suited for the pre-modern world

• The Spotlight Effect: we tend to think that other people notice things about us more than they actually do.

~Psychologist Nathan Heflick

• Analysis paralysis, and choice regret: “Sometimes, having too many options keeps us from making any decisions at all. And when we do settle on something, we're more likely to regret or be disappointed by it.”

~Psychologist Barry Schwartz

• Our memory is notoriously fallible. “One study even demonstrated that 25 percent of people could be induced to remember events that never even happened to them.”

• We favor our own WAY too much. “Psychologists have found in-group bias to exist even among randomly-assigned groups.”

Source: Huffington Post - 8 Things Your Brain Does Wrong Every Day

Our brain evolved mechanisms better suited for the pre-modern world

• “…our brains are wired to scout for the bad stuff…which makes it hard for us to learn from our positive experiences [which] is the primary way to grow inner strength.”

~ Psychologist Rick Hanson Hardwiring Happiness

• Change blindness…we’re probably not as aware as we think we are. ~(Harvard and Kent State study)

• Cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias…it is mentally taxing and confusing for us to let of of what we think we know and start collecting evidence for a new hypothesis

• We see patterns where there are none…apophenia… type 1 errors…conspiracy theories…

Source: Huffington Post - 8 Things Your Brain Does Wrong Every Day

What we want/expect and what we focus on can change what we see

Chun and Wolfe, 2001Balcetis and Dunning, 2006

Reason isn’t very good at helping individuals find truth…

• Confirmation Bias • Motivated Reasoning

Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber (2011). Why do humans reason? Arguments for an argumentative theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 34, pp 57-74.

…but it can help moderate groups promote better ideas

• It’s my job to convince you of my beliefs and find holes in your arguments, and vice versa…

Haidt argues reason is more PR manager than passionless truth seeker

Evidence confirms belief• Can I believe it?

Evidence contradicts belief• Do I have to believe it?

Haidt found six underlying moral foundations common to all cultures

Liberals tend to emphasize:• Care• Fairness

Conservatives emphasize all 6• Care• Fairness• Liberty• Loyalty• Authority• Sanctity

Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. Random House LLC.

Haidt says morality “blind and binds us”

• Ultrasociality (ants and humans)– Religious rites– Magnetic polarization– Demonization and subjugation

For when you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of this color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your home or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered.

~ Robert F. Kennedy

Mooney says the old brain (emotion) affects the “new” brain (reason)

• Storage and recall of memory is handled by the older regions of the brain

• Beliefs are physical structures in the brain• “Reasoned” arguments from a conflicting

point of view cannot rework these physical pathways on the spot…and it hurts (CD)

Mooney, Chris. The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science--and Reality. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.

Mooney argues conservatives and liberals are different…in the head

Liberals• Openness to Experience• Tolerance for Ambiguity• Integrative Complexity• Analysis Paralysis

Conservatives• Determination• Perseverance• Leadership• Loyalty• Authoritarian• Need for Closure

Mooney argues that genetics is only a part (albeit currently underestimated) of the complex milieu that shapes how we perceive information and react to it. Some environmental factors he discusses include: family/group norms, selective media exposure, national political environment, major world events, and personal experience.

NOTE: Haidt’s discussion of twins converging over time

The smartest people tend to be the most biased

• The “smart idiot affect” (Mooney)• The more [sophist]icated you are and the

more knowledgeable you are the more biased you are likely to be (Kahan)

• This can make it even harder for people to recognize when they are being biased and why others might view them as dishonest

SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?Recommended strategies from psychology

Mercier and Sperber say we should talk to people we disagree with

• Interaction is key– Face to Face– Non-verbal cues– Small groups

• There needs to be a common interest in finding truth, willingness to change views

• Truths that threaten group/social status may be the hardest to overcome

Haidt argues that we need to demonize less and listen more

• Plea for moral humility• Don’t expect your reasoning to convince

others• Work on relationships FIRST!– “How to Win Friends and Influence People”

by Dale Carnegie• Asteroid club• Read National Review AND The New Republic

Mooney says to liberals…inherit best conservative traits…and be cool

• In order to be more successful electorally, be more like conservatives: determined, loyal, pick a direction and persevere (lead)

• Don’t be like Convercet…at least in one way– Be careful when you are:• Self Affirmation Exercise (Nyhan and Reifler)• Demonstrate common ground and don’t threaten

values (Kahan)

What can we do to help reverse the increasing divisions in our Country?

DISCUSS…

Confirmation bias tends to worsen as people are more sophisticated

• “When reading pro and con arguments, participants (Ps) counterargue the contrary arguments and uncritically accept supporting arguments, evidence of a disconfirmation bias.

• “We also find a confirmation bias—the seeking out of confirmatory evidence—when Ps are free to self-select the source of the arguments they read.

• “Both the confirmation and disconfirmation biases lead to attitude polarization especially among those with the strongest priors and highest levels of political sophistication.”

Taber, C. S. and Lodge, M. (2006), Motivated Skepticism in the Evaluation of Political Beliefs. American Journal of Political Science, 50: 755–769.