Lay Theories of Morality in the Lives of Moral Exemplars

Psychological research on moral exemplars presents them as near perfect, focusing on their impeccable character and accomplishments. However, just like anybody else, they also have imperfections that are usually unrecognized by psychological research. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the implications of studying moral exemplars as if they are perfect. I will argue that focusing only on the positive qualities of moral exemplars, and ignoring the important ways that failures may have contributed to their development, imply an entity theory of morality where only certain perfect people possess unchangeable moral traits. In Chapter I, I provide an overview of psychological research on morality and moral exemplars, showing how they imply an entity theory of morality, and explore the potential consequences of this implication. In Chapter II, I present the results of series of studies that examine how individual react when they find out about the failures of their moral exemplars. Throughout six experiments, the results show that whereas finding out about the failure of a moral exemplar undermines them as a moral model, participants are inspired by the moral exemplar if the failure leads to growth and learning. In Chapter III, I propose four studies that aim to demonstrate that imperfect exemplars may also be important in applied educational settings. Specifically, I propose using imperfect exemplars in a sexual assault prevention leadership training program, arguing that imperfect exemplars may be particularly inspiring for participants who confront their past failures

International support for the Arab uprisings: Understanding sympathetic collective action using theories of social dominance and social identity

Inspired by the popular Arab protests against oppressive regimes that began in 2010, people around the world protested in sympathy with the Arab peoples. The present research draws on two major theories of intergroup relations to develop an initial integrative model of sympathetic collective action. We incorporate social dominance theory’s (SDT) concept of (rejectionist) legitimizing myths with the solidarity and emotional mediation concept of the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) to understand motivations for sympathetic collective action among bystanders. Using data from 12 nations (N = 1,480), we tested three models: (a) SIMCA (i.e., solidarity, anger, and efficacy), (b) a social dominance theory model of collective action (i.e., social dominance orientation and ideologies concerning Arab competence), and (c) an integrated model of sympathetic collective action combining both theories. Results find the greatest support for an integrated model of collective action. Discussion focuses on theoretical pluralism and suggestions for future research