Table 1.
Respondent ratings of moral scenarios
| Scenario | Respondent Classifications of Scenarios
|
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Care | Fairness | Loyalty | Authority | Sanctity | Liberty | Not Wrong | Wrong | |
| You see a teenage boy chuckling at an amputee he passes by while on the subway. | Care (e) | 83 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 10 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3.4 |
| You see a girl laughing at another student forgetting her lines at a school play. | Care (e) | 73 % | 3 % | 7 % | 0 % | 0 % | 13 % | 3 % | 2.4 |
| You see a woman commenting out loud about how fat another woman looks in her jeans. | Care (e) | 73 % | 7 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 13 % | 0 % | 3.0 |
| You see a man quickly canceling a blind date as soon as he sees the woman. | Care (e) | 72 % | 16 % | 0 % | 0 % | 6 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3.0 |
| You see a boy telling a woman that she looks just like her overweight bulldog. | Care (e) | 72 % | 0 % | 0 % | 13 % | 0 % | 16 % | 0 % | 3.3 |
| You see a girl laughing when she realizes her friend’s dad is the janitor. | Care (e) | 70 % | 7 % | 0 % | 3 % | 7 % | 10 % | 3 % | 2.9 |
| You see a man snickering as he passes by a cancer patient with a bald head. | Care (e) | 69 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 17 % | 10 % | 0 % | 3.4 |
| You see a girl saying that another girl is too ugly to be a varsity cheerleader. | Care (e) | 69 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 7 % | 14 % | 7 % | 2.8 |
| You see a teenage girl openly staring at a disfigured woman as she walks past. | Care (e) | 68 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 23 % | 2.0 |
| You see a boy making fun of his brother for getting dumped by his girlfriend. | Care (e) | 68 % | 0 % | 13 % | 0 % | 0 % | 10 % | 10 % | 2.2 |
| You see a man laughing at a disabled co-worker while at an office softball game. | Care (e) | 68 % | 6 % | 0 % | 0 % | 6 % | 19 % | 0 % | 3.5 |
| You see a man loudly telling his wife that the dinner she cooked tastes awful. | Care (e) | 66 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 13 % | 6 % | 9 % | 2.4 |
| You see a man telling a woman that her painting looks like it was done by children. | Care (e) | 66 % | 0 % | 0 % | 6 % | 0 % | 16 % | 13 % | 1.9 |
| You see a woman clearly avoiding sitting next to an obese woman on the bus. | Care (e) | 64 % | 7 % | 0 % | 4 % | 4 % | 4 % | 18 % | 2.0 |
| You see a girl telling a boy that his older brother is much more attractive than him. | Care (e) | 63 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 25 % | 1.4 |
| You see a girl telling her classmate that she looks like she has gained weight. | Care (e) | 60 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 13 % | 10 % | 10 % | 2.2 |
| You see a woman swerving her car in order to intentionally run over a squirrel. | Care (p, a) | 87 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 5 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3.2 |
| You see a woman throwing her cat across the room for scratching the furniture. | Care (p, a) | 85 % | 2 % | 0 % | 2 % | 5 % | 5 % | 0 % | 3.2 |
| You see a boy throwing rocks at cows that are grazing in the local pasture. | Care (p, a) | 85 % | 0 % | 2 % | 5 % | 5 % | 2 % | 0 % | 3.3 |
| You see a man lashing his pony with a whip for breaking loose from its pen. | Care (p, a) | 83 % | 0 % | 0 % | 2 % | 7 % | 5 % | 2 % | 2.9 |
| You see a boy setting a series of traps to kill stray cats in his neighborhood. | Care (p, a) | 81 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 14 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3.6 |
| You see a zoo trainer jabbing a dolphin to get it to entertain his customers. | Care (p, a) | 76 % | 2 % | 5 % | 5 % | 2 % | 7 % | 2 % | 3.2 |
| You see someone leaving his dog outside in the rain after it dug in the trash. | Care (p, a) | 75 % | 0 % | 8 % | 3 % | 5 % | 3 % | 8 % | 2.7 |
| You see a girl shooting geese repeatedly with a pellet gun out in the woods. | Care (p, a) | 69 % | 0 % | 0 % | 5 % | 13 % | 5 % | 8 % | 3.0 |
| You see a woman snatching away her dog’s food for making a mess in the living room. | Care (p, a) | 63 % | 6 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3 % | 9 % | 17 % | 2.2 |
| You see a woman throwing a stapler at her colleague who is snoring during her talk. | Care (p, h) | 78 % | 3 % | 3 % | 8 % | 0 % | 5 % | 3 % | 3.0 |
| You see a teacher hitting a student’s hand with a ruler for falling asleep in class. | Care (p, h) | 78 % | 0 % | 3 % | 5 % | 3 % | 8 % | 3 % | 2.7 |
| You see a woman slapping another woman who she is arguing with in the parking lot. | Care (p, h) | 78 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 5 % | 13 % | 3 % | 2.8 |
| You see a girl throwing her hot coffee on a woman who is dating her ex-boyfriend | Care (p, h) | 73 % | 0 % | 8 % | 5 % | 5 % | 8 % | 3 % | 3.3 |
| You see a wife hitting her husband on the side of his head for coming home late. | Care (p, h) | 69 % | 8 % | 5 % | 0 % | 3 % | 15 % | 0 % | 2.9 |
| You see a boy placing a thumbtack sticking up on the chair of another student. | Care (p, h) | 65 % | 0 % | 10 % | 8 % | 3 % | 13 % | 3 % | 2.8 |
| You see a woman spanking her child with a spatula for getting bad grades in school. | Care (p, h) | 62 % | 3 % | 5 % | 0 % | 5 % | 10 % | 15 % | 2.6 |
| You see a student copying a classmate’s answer sheet on a makeup final exam. | Fairness | 0 % | 100 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3.4 |
| You see a runner taking a shortcut on the course during the marathon in order to win. | Fairness | 0 % | 97 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3.4 |
| You see a tenant bribing a landlord to be the first to get their apartment repainted. | Fairness | 0 % | 97 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 2.2 |
| You see a soccer player pretending to be seriously fouled by an opposing player. | Fairness | 0 % | 94 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 2.5 |
| You see someone cheating in a card game while playing with a group of strangers. | Fairness | 3 % | 93 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 2.6 |
| You see a professor giving a bad grade to a student just because he dislikes him. | Fairness | 3 % | 93 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3.7 |
| You see a referee intentionally making bad calls that help his favored team win. | Fairness | 0 % | 90 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3.0 |
| You see a manager taking half the doughnuts from a box, leaving little for others. | Fairness | 3 % | 90 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 7 % | 2.0 |
| You see a judge taking on a criminal case although he is friends with the defendant. | Fairness | 0 % | 89 % | 4 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 7 % | 3.1 |
| You see a student getting an A on a group project when he didn’t do his part. | Fairness | 0 % | 88 % | 9 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 2.8 |
| You see an employee lying about how many hours she worked during the week. | Fairness | 0 % | 87 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3 % | 2.9 |
| You see a woman getting hired only because her father is close friends with the boss. | Fairness | 0 % | 84 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3 % | 6 % | 2.4 |
| You see a girl asking for allowance even though her brother did her chores for her. | Fairness | 3 % | 82 % | 3 % | 6 % | 6 % | 0 % | 0 % | 2.7 |
| You see a girl taking all the Halloween candy from a bowl, leaving none for others. | Fairness | 6 % | 74 % | 10 % | 6 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 2.5 |
| You see a politician using federal tax dollars to build an extension on his home. | Fairness | 3 % | 71 % | 19 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3.8 |
| You see a boy skipping to the front of the line because his friend is an employee. | Fairness | 3 % | 70 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 13 % | 2.4 |
| You see a woman lying about the number of vacation days she has taken at work. | Fairness | 0 % | 60 % | 10 % | 7 % | 0 % | 0 % | 23 % | 2.2 |
| You see an employee joking with competitors about how bad his company did last year. | Loyalty | 0 % | 3 % | 84 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 6 % | 2.0 |
| You see a coach celebrating with the opposing team’s players who just won the game. | Loyalty | 0 % | 3 % | 76 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 17 % | 1.8 |
| You see a former US General saying publicly he would never buy any American product. | Loyalty | 0 % | 0 % | 75 % | 6 % | 3 % | 0 % | 16 % | 2.5 |
| You see a mayor saying that the neighboring town is a much better town. | Loyalty | 0 % | 3 % | 74 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 16 % | 1.6 |
| You see the US Ambassador joking in Great Britain about the stupidity of Americans. | Loyalty | 3 % | 0 % | 74 % | 16 % | 0 % | 0 % | 6 % | 2.8 |
| You see a man leaving his family business to go work for their main competitor. | Loyalty | 0 % | 3 % | 73 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 20 % | 1.7 |
| You see a teacher publicly saying she hopes another school wins the math contest. | Loyalty | 12 % | 0 % | 69 % | 0 % | 4 % | 0 % | 15 % | 1.9 |
| You see a head cheerleader booing her high school’s team during a homecoming game. | Loyalty | 7 % | 0 % | 69 % | 7 % | 0 % | 7 % | 10 % | 2.3 |
| You see the class president saying on TV that her rival college is a better school. | Loyalty | 0 % | 0 % | 68 % | 6 % | 0 % | 0 % | 26 % | 1.4 |
| You see a Hollywood star agreeing with a foreign dictator’s denunciation of the US. | Loyalty | 0 % | 3 % | 67 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 27 % | 2.2 |
| You see a college president singing a rival school’s fight song during a pep rally. | Loyalty | 0 % | 0 % | 66 % | 7 % | 3 % | 0 % | 24 % | 1.7 |
| You see a man secretly voting against his wife in a local beauty pageant. | Loyalty | 10 % | 7 % | 66 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 17 % | 1.9 |
| You see an American telling foreigners that the US is an evil force in the world. | Loyalty | 10 % | 0 % | 66 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 14 % | 2.7 |
| You see the coach’s wife sponsoring a bake sale for her husband’s rival team. | Loyalty | 0 % | 6 % | 65 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 29 % | 1.5 |
| You see a former Secretary of State publicly giving up his citizenship to the US. | Loyalty | 0 % | 3 % | 62 % | 10 % | 0 % | 7 % | 17 % | 2.1 |
| You see a US swimmer cheering as a Chinese foe beats his teammate to win the gold. | Loyalty | 2 % | 2 % | 61 % | 7 % | 0 % | 0 % | 27 % | 1.8 |
| You see a girl ignoring her father’s orders by taking the car after her curfew. | Authority | 3 % | 0 % | 6 % | 81 % | 3 % | 0 % | 6 % | 2.5 |
| You see a woman refusing to stand when the judge walks into the courtroom. | Authority | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 80 % | 3 % | 0 % | 13 % | 2.0 |
| You see a girl repeatedly interrupting her teacher as he explains a new concept. | Authority | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 80 % | 0 % | 0 % | 17 % | 2.0 |
| You see a woman spray painting graffiti across the steps of the local courthouse. | Authority | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 78 % | 16 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3.3 |
| You see an intern disobeying an order to dress professionally and comb his hair. | Authority | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 78 % | 0 % | 0 % | 19 % | 1.9 |
| You see a man turn his back and walk away while his boss questions his work. | Authority | 2 % | 0 % | 2 % | 78 % | 0 % | 0 % | 17 % | 2.1 |
| You see a staff member talking loudly and interrupting the mayor’s speech to the public. | Authority | 0 % | 8 % | 8 % | 76 % | 5 % | 3 % | 0 % | 2.8 |
| You see a teenage girl coming home late and ignoring her parents’ strict curfew. | Authority | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 75 % | 3 % | 0 % | 13 % | 2.3 |
| You see a boy spray-painting anarchy symbols on the side of the police station. | Authority | 6 % | 0 % | 0 % | 75 % | 9 % | 3 % | 6 % | 2.9 |
| You see an employee trying to undermine all of her boss’ ideas in front of others. | Authority | 7 % | 0 % | 13 % | 73 % | 0 % | 0 % | 7 % | 2.6 |
| You see a teaching assistant talking back to the teacher in front of the classrom. | Authority | 3 % | 0 % | 13 % | 72 % | 3 % | 3 % | 8 % | 2.5 |
| You see a group of women having a long and loud conversation during a church sermon. | Authority | 3 % | 0 % | 15 % | 72 % | 10 % | 0 % | 0 % | 2.8 |
| You see a star player ignoring her coach’s order to come to the bench during a game. | Authority | 0 % | 10 % | 13 % | 71 % | 0 % | 0 % | 6 % | 2.1 |
| You see a player publicly yelling at his soccer coach during a playoff game. | Authority | 7 % | 3 % | 3 % | 69 % | 3 % | 10 % | 3 % | 2.1 |
| You see a man secretly watching sports on his cell phone during a pastor’s sermon. | Authority | 7 % | 3 % | 3 % | 69 % | 0 % | 0 % | 17 % | 1.8 |
| You see a boy turning up the TV as his father talks about his military service. | Authority | 13 % | 0 % | 0 % | 65 % | 0 % | 0 % | 23 % | 2.1 |
| You see a student stating that her professor is a fool during an afternoon class. | Authority | 13 % | 3 % | 6 % | 65 % | 0 % | 0 % | 13 % | 2.0 |
| You see a man having sex with a frozen chicken before cooking it for dinner. | Sanctity | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 88 % | 3 % | 6 % | 3.0 |
| You see a very drunk woman making out with multiple strangers on the city bus. | Sanctity | 3 % | 8 % | 3 % | 0 % | 85 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3.0 |
| You see a family eating the carcass of their pet dog that had been run over. | Sanctity | 3 % | 3 % | 6 % | 3 % | 84 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3.2 |
| You see a drunk elderly man offering to have oral sex with anyone in the bar. | Sanctity | 6 % | 0 % | 0 % | 6 % | 84 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3.4 |
| You see a teenager urinating in the wave pool at a crowded amusement park. | Sanctity | 13 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 84 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3.4 |
| You see a man in a bar using his phone to watch people having sex with animals. | Sanctity | 10 % | 6 % | 3 % | 3 % | 77 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3.3 |
| You see a teenage male in a dorm bathroom secretly using a stranger’s toothbrush. | Sanctity | 13 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 77 % | 3 % | 6 % | 2.6 |
| You see a woman having intimate relations with a recently deceased loved one. | Sanctity | 6 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 74 % | 3 % | 10 % | 3.3 |
| You see a homosexual in a gay bar offering sex to anyone who buys him a drink. | Sanctity | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 7 % | 73 % | 3 % | 13 % | 2.6 |
| You see an employee at a morgue eating his pepperoni pizza off of a dead body. | Sanctity | 7 % | 0 % | 0 % | 10 % | 73 % | 0 % | 10 % | 3.2 |
| You see a girl and her sister making out with each other just for practice. | Sanctity | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 71 % | 0 % | 23 % | 2.8 |
| You see a story about a remote tribe eating the flesh of their deceased members. | Sanctity | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 69 % | 0 % | 24 % | 2.3 |
| You see a woman burping and farting loudly while eating at a fast food truck. | Sanctity | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 6 % | 68 % | 3 % | 19 % | 2.1 |
| You see a man searching through the trash to find women’s discarded underwear. | Sanctity | 9 % | 0 % | 3 % | 12 % | 67 % | 3 % | 6 % | 3.0 |
| You see two first cousins getting married to each other in an elaborate wedding. | Sanctity | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 13 % | 66 % | 3 % | 16 % | 2.7 |
| You see a single man ordering an inflatable sex doll that looks like his secretary. | Sanctity | 0 % | 6 % | 0 % | 3 % | 65 % | 0 % | 26 % | 1.5 |
| You see a college student drinking until she vomits on herself and falls asleep. | Sanctity | 5 % | 0 % | 0 % | 5 % | 64 % | 0 % | 26 % | 2.3 |
| You see a man telling his fiance that she has to switch to his political party. | Liberty | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 90 % | 3 % | 2.9 |
| You see a father requiring his son to become a commercial airline pilot like him. | Liberty | 0 % | 4 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 85 % | 12 % | 1.9 |
| You see a man blocking his wife from leaving home or interacting with others. | Liberty | 6 % | 6 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 84 % | 0 % | 3.3 |
| You see a manager coercing her employees into eating at her brother’s diner. | Liberty | 0 % | 10 % | 3 % | 3 % | 3 % | 77 % | 3 % | 2.2 |
| You see a man telling his girlfriend that she must convert to his religion. | Liberty | 0 % | 13 % | 3 % | 6 % | 0 % | 77 % | 0 % | 2.5 |
| You see a mother telling her son that she is going to choose all of his friends. | Liberty | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 75 % | 19 % | 2.2 |
| You see a man forbidding his wife to wear clothing that he has not first approved. | Liberty | 6 % | 10 % | 3 % | 0 % | 3 % | 74 % | 3 % | 3.1 |
| You see a boss ordering an employee to revoke his citizenship in his home country. | Liberty | 3 % | 7 % | 17 % | 3 % | 0 % | 70 % | 0 % | 3.3 |
| You see a boss pressuring employees to buy goods from her family’s general store. | Liberty | 3 % | 10 % | 3 % | 0 % | 10 % | 69 % | 3 % | 2.7 |
| You see a woman pressuring her daughter to become a famous evening news anchor. | Liberty | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 68 % | 26 % | 1.5 |
| You see a public leader on TV trying to ban the wearing of hooded sweatshirts. | Liberty | 3 % | 19 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 65 % | 10 % | 2.7 |
| You see a mother forcing her daughter to enroll as a pre-med student in college. | Liberty | 10 % | 6 % | 0 % | 6 % | 3 % | 65 % | 10 % | 2.3 |
| You see a father requiring his son to take up the family restaurant business. | Liberty | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 7 % | 3 % | 62 % | 21 % | 1.5 |
| You see a teacher ordering a student to get a normal haircut before coming to class. | Liberty | 0 % | 19 % | 0 % | 0 % | 8 % | 62 % | 12 % | 2.8 |
| You see a teenager at a cafeteria forcing a younger student to pay for her lunch. | Liberty | 13 % | 10 % | 3 % | 6 % | 3 % | 61 % | 3 % | 3.0 |
| You see a mayor trying to ban people from hugging and kissing in public in his city. | Liberty | 5 % | 8 % | 3 % | 10 % | 0 % | 69 % | 5 % | 3.2 |
| You see a pastor banning his congregants from wearing bright colors in the church. | Liberty | 3 % | 3 % | 8 % | 10 % | 3 % | 62 % | 13 % | 2.6 |
| You see someone using an old rotary phone and refusing to go buy a new one. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 100 % | 0.0 |
| You see a man staying inside his home with the shades drawn on a rare sunny day. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 100 % | 0.1 |
| You see a woman drinking her entire cup of coffee using a stirring spoon. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 97 % | 0.2 |
| You see a woman eating dessert before her main entree arrives on the table. | Social Norms | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 97 % | 0.2 |
| You see a woman continuing to wear a large sun hat inside her apartment complex. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 97 % | 0.2 |
| You see someone at the school gym lifting free weights in nice business clothes. | Social Norms | 0 % | 4 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 96 % | 0.2 |
| You see a man eating a bowl of cereal in the morning with water instead of milk. | Social Norms | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 94 % | 0.1 |
| You see a woman using a fork to eat a bowl of vanilla ice cream and marshmallows. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 94 % | 0.1 |
| You see a man putting ketchup all over his chicken Caesar salad while at lunch. | Social Norms | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 94 % | 0.2 |
| You see a man wearing clothes that are clearly several sizes too big for his body. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 93 % | 0.3 |
| You see a man walking down a dark hallway while still wearing his sunglasses. | Social Norms | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 93 % | 0.2 |
| You see someone driving around in a dirty car that has not been washed recently. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 6 % | 0 % | 91 % | 0.2 |
| You see a woman watching a game on television in black-and-white instead of color. | Social Norms | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 7 % | 0 % | 90 % | 0.1 |
| You see someone reading the ending of a spy novel before reading the beginning. | Social Norms | 4 % | 0 % | 4 % | 0 % | 0 % | 4 % | 89 % | 0.2 |
| You see a teenage girl wearing a long trench coat on a hot summer afternoon. | Social Norms | 3 % | 3 % | 0 % | 6 % | 0 % | 0 % | 88 % | 0.2 |
| You see a woman answering a phone call with the word “goodbye” instead of “hello. | Social Norms | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 10 % | 0 % | 0 % | 87 % | 0.5 |
“Care (e)” refers to emotional harm scenarios, “Care (p, h)” to physical harm to a human, and “Care (p, a)” to physical harm to a nonhuman animal. “Wrong” represents average ratings of moral wrongness on a 5-point scale, where 0 = not at all wrong and 4 = extremely wrong.