Many people assume that morality — our sense of what is “right” and just in this world versus what is wrong — is something we formulate through a process of time, experience and thinking. We equate morality with higher reasoning and not a base instinct like hunger or the need for shelter.
New research out from the University of Toronto suggests that perhaps such thinking is wrong.
In the study, the scientists examined facial movements when participants tasted unpleasant liquids and looked at photographs of disgusting objects such as dirty toilets or injuries.
They compared these to their facial movements when they were subjected to unfair treatment in a laboratory game. The U of T team found that people make similar facial movements in response to both primitive forms of disgust and moral disgust.
The researchers used a technique of measurement of facial muscles contraction using electrodes.
The researchers focused on movement of the levator labii muscle, which acts to raise the upper lip and wrinkle the nose, movements that are thought to be characteristic of the facial expression of disgust. They found activation of this region in all three study situations.
The researchers said,
“However, disgust is an ancient and rather primitive emotion which played a key evolutionary role in survival. Our research shows the involvement of disgust in morality, suggesting that moral judgment may depend as much on simple emotional processes as on complex thought.”
I find it fascinating to imagine that constructs — such as morality — we previously thought of as artificially human-created are actually, in some manner, hard-wired into our brains. Could this just be the result of hundreds of generations of human evolution that has determined that such a morality wiring is beneficial to the survival of the species? Or some artifact of the thought processes involved in making morality judgments?
Further research may make the picture a little more clear.
Read the full article: Bad Behavior Leaves Bad Taste In Mouth.
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3 Comments to
“Is Morality a Basic Instinct?”
This would not surprise me in the least. I do not believe that morality is a learned behaviour. Children of people that I would consider much less than moral have no issues themselves so no I don’t believe it’s ALL what you see at home or your own life experiences. I do believe that people have a built in sense of right and wrong that comes from someplace other than life experiences.
This is another good news from many theist. You mean it is natural? It is not really learned? I can’t understand!! Where did it comes from?
Having taken numerous child development psychology classes in school, I found this entry to be extremely interesting and thought-provoking. Most developmental theories taught today are based on the earlier works of psychologists like Freud, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Ainsworth, which mainly believe that morality is a learned, experiential construct—something that is gained through social rules from primary caregivers. The idea that morality could be “hard-wired into our brains” goes against much of what I have already learned; therefore, I have a few questions about the study itself.
Upon reading the study, I was struck by the specificity of the conclusion based solely upon evidence relating the facial movements for disgust and moral disgust. I can understand how conditioned taste aversion would cause facial movement in the levator labii region, as this was something that may have “evolved from a functional role in regulating sensory intake,” which Darwin suggested long ago. Furthermore, I can believe that similar movement in the levator labii region would result from disgust in the unfair conditions in the Ultimatum Game, but how did this movement come to be an accepted construct for morality? Furthermore, in the article you cite, the author quotes Adam Anderson when he says, “Surprisingly, our sophisticated moral sense of what is right and wrong may develop from a newborn’s innate preference for what tastes good and bad.” Do you think this is a fair assertion to make when the journal article from Science says that “anger and sadness endorsement…did not correlate with levator labii region activity,” and that “contempt, another emotion that has been theoretically linked to immorality also did not correlate with the activation of the levator labii region?” Given that previous research has shown that anger has opposing neurological and physical patterns, do you foresee any way to test for other aspects of morality or immorality beyond the facial movements and self-report for disgust?
While I feel that the assumptions being made might be premature without further research, this entry was an extremely interesting read, giving me something else to think about today. Thank you for this post, and I look forward to hearing from you or other bloggers in the future.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 4 Mar 2009
