Integrating the Streams of Morality Research

Abstract

The scientific study of morality has blossomed in the past decade, yielding key insights into the psychological processes underlying moral judgments. This blossoming has generally taken place along two streams of research: one concerning cultural and individual differences in these processes, and one concerning their situational determinants. Although these two streams often examine the same factors (e.g., the role of contamination in moral judgment), they have not systematically built on each other’s findings, and their empirical approaches remain distinct. In this article, we describe how these streams have begun to converge in recent empirical work, highlighting work on political ideology as one example. We then discuss the benefits an integrated research approach can have for moral psychology, especially in (a) delineating the links between moral judgment and moral behavior and (b) expanding the range of moral behaviors studied in order to more fully represent everyday moral life.