On the basis of previous research in personality and in social psychology, it was predicted that Ss who expend little effort in drawing the human figure may have a "closed cognitive system" and would thus make harsh moral judgments. 62 students were given a test of moral judgments in which they rated the morality of different behaviors and drew a full-length picture of a person. Ss who expended low effort in their drawings made more severe moral judgments (p < .10), even though all test situations involved mitigating circumstances. Differences were partially obscured by the fact that all Ss were rather moralistic in their judgments.
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