The Effects of Perceived Group Differences on Moral Decision Making

The stereotype content model (SCM; Fiske et al., 2002), asserts stereotypes are mediated by dimensions
of warmth and competence. Similar to Cikara, Farnsworth, Harris and Fiske (2010) this series of studies
will explore how moral decision making may be influenced by these dimensions, when warmth and
competence are manipulated in a variety of different ways, the size of 'saved' relative to 'sacrificed'
groups are respectively varied, and well-controlled facial stimuli are presented as examples of individuals
falling into each of these quadrants. In initial experiments the anticipated within-subjects design is as
follows: A 2 (warmth of the 'sacrifice' group: high vs. low) x 2 (competence of the 'sacrifice' group: high
vs. low) x 2 (size of the sacrifice group: small vs. large), with 'moral acceptability' ratings as the
dependent variable. If findings support the implicit stereotyping assumption (Greenwald and Banaji,
1995) as well as previous research on the potential for group differences to impact moral decision
making (Chu & Gruhn, 2018; Cuddy, Rock & Norton, 2007; Cikara et al., 2010) this suggests that our
judicial system or any quorum overseeing somebodies fate (such as possible employment, promotion or
discipline) should strive for diversity within their ranks to flatten the effects of group bias.