Psychology Commons^™

Implicit Theories And Conceptions Of Morality, Chi-Yue Chiu, Carol S. Dweck, Jennifer Yuk-Yue Tong, Ho-Ying Fu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this article, the authors propose that individuals' moral beliefs are linked to their implicit theories about the nature (i.e., malleability) of their social-moral reality. Specifically, it was hypothesized that when individuals believe in a fixed reality (entity theory), they tend to hold moral beliefs in which duties within the given system are seen as fundamental. In contrast, when individuals believe in a malleable reality (incremental theory), one that can be shaped by individuals, they hold moral beliefs that focus on moral principles, such as human rights, around which that reality should be organized. Results from 5 studies supported the …