A matter of right or wrong: Divisive attributes of moralized science and technology attitudes

Abstract

In recent years, scholars have theorized that one factor enflaming public divides over science and technology is moralization: an individual's perception that their position on an issue is rooted in fundamental moral right and wrong. In this article, I provide evidence for this proposition across five pre-registered hypotheses about the divisive attributes of moralized attitudes in the context of science and technology. Using public opinion data in the United States on three issues-combating climate change, developing gene editing therapies for humans, and labeling genetically modified food-this study demonstrates that moralized attitudes have the potential to exacerbate resistance to scientific evidence and hostility between those with opposing positions. These findings provide strong proof of concept that studying variation in the degree to which individuals moralize issues is an important future direction for understanding persistent public divides over science and technology.

Keywords: climate change; genetic modification; moral conviction; moralization; polarization.