F15: The Direction Of Moral Values
Ever feel like the world is getting less moral by the day? You’re not alone—83% of Americans believe our moral values are declining. But what if that belief is just an illusion? This episode explores research revealing how our natural biases make us focus on the negative while romanticizing the past. Despite viral videos of public outbursts and scandalous headlines, studies show something that will surprise you. Are we truly in a moral decline, or are we just wired to think so? Tune in to uncover the truth about morality, media influence, and why good people still outnumber the bad.
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F15: THE DIRECTION OF MORAL VALUES
HOW MANY OF YOU, IN THE LAST YEAR, HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW OUR COUNTRY, OR THE WORLD AS A WHOLE, IS LOSING ITS MORALS? THAT OUR SOCIETY ISN’T GROUNDED IN VIRTUES LIKE HONESTY AND INTEGRITY AS IT ONCE WAS?
I KNOW I’VE BEEN AROUND A CONVERSATION LIKE THIS. PROBABLY SEVERAL.
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO WONDER ABOUT AS WE LOOK AROUND. UNETHICAL HEADS OF COMPANIES. SCANDALS BY GOVERNMENT WORKERS. FRIENDSHIPS SEEMINGLY LESS GENUINE. EVERYTHING THESE DAYS BEING ABOUT THE ANGLES AND SELF-INTEREST.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT THE INTERNAL NARRATIVE WE CAN DEVELOP ABOUT A MORAL DECLINE HAPPENING AROUND US….AND HOW OUR OWN BIASES MIGHT BE FAILING US…BECAUSE BELIEVE IT OR NOT…. LIKE IT OR NOT...THERE’S GOOD EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT THE CONCLUSIONS WE’VE DRAWN ARE BASED ON MERELY AN ILLUSION.
EPISODE
BETWEEN 1965 AND 2020, THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 4 MILLION PEOPLE INVOLVED IN RESEARCH STUDIES AROUND THE WORLD GAUGING MORAL BEHAVIOR. OVER THE YEARS THE STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON PEOPLE’S OWN BEHAVIOR AS WELL AS THE BEHAVIOR OF PEOPLE AROUND THEM. THEY EMPLOYED QUESTIONS LIKE “WERE YOU TREATED WITH RESPECT ALL DAY YESTERDAY?” AND “WOULD YOU SAY THAT MOST OF THE TIME PEOPLE TRY TO BE HELPFUL, OR THAT THEY ARE MOSTLY JUST LOOKING OUT FOR THEMSELVES?” …AND THE QUESTIONS WERE EVEN SITUATIONAL LIKE “DURING THE PAST 12 MONTHS, HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU CARRIED A STRANGERS BELONGINGS, LIKE GROCERIES, A SUITCASE, OR SHOPPING BAG?”
WHAT THESE STUDIES HAVE REPEATEDLY SHOWN IS, THAT NO MATTER WHAT YEAR IT IS, OR IN WHICH COUNTRY THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED, RESULTS WERE FLAT. MEANING, PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOR, AS WELL AS THE BEHAVIOR OF THOSE AROUND THEM, WAS GENERALLY GOOD AND UNCHANGED…. WITH PEOPLE REPORTING POSITIVE BEHAVIOR AROUND 90% OF THE TIME AND LITTLE SENSE OF IMMORALITY.
HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO A RECENT GALLUP POLL, THINGS ARE NOT LOOKING GOOD IN THE UNITED STATES. IN 2023, 83% OF AMERICANS POLLED, BELIEVED THAT MORAL VALUES IN THE COUNTRY ARE GETTING WORSE, WHICH WAS THE MOST PESSIMISTIC RESPONSE IN OVER 22 YEARS.
AND WE’RE NOT ALONE. OUTSIDE OF THE U.S., POLLS ARE SAYING THE SAME THING. IN EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY POLLED, PEOPLE TENDED TO THINK THAT MORAL AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR WAS IN DECLINE.
BUT HERE’S THE THING…. IT’S NOT JUST RECENT POLLS… FOR BOTH THE U.S. AND FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD, SINCE 1949, THE RESULTS ARE SIMILAR.
WE AS PEOPLE, EVEN THOUGH STUDIES AT THE SAME TIME ARE COMING BACK SAYING THAT BEHAVIOR IS GOOD 90% OF THE TIME AND THAT GENERALLY PEOPLE ARE STILL MORAL…..WE, AS A SOCIETY, ALWAYS BELIEVE THAT MORALITY IS CRUMBLING.
SO, WHAT’S HAPPENING?
ACCORDING TO ADAM MASTROIANNI OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, LEAD RESEARCHER AND CO-AUTHOR OF THE 2023 STUDY ON THE ILLUSION OF MORAL DECLINE, THIS STATISTICAL DISSONANCE IS VERY LIKELY A RESULT OF TWO OF OUR NATURAL BIASES AS HUMANS.
1. OUR TENDENCY TO FOCUS ON THE NEGATIVE VS. THE POSITIVE IN LIFE. THIS IS A SURVIVAL MECHANISM HARD-WIRED INTO OUR DNA THROUGH EVOLUTION. THIS BIAS IS WHY NEGATIVE NEWS DOES SO WELL IN THE RATINGS. WE’RE CONDITIONED TO PAY ATTENTION TO NEGATIVITY SO WE CAN REMAIN SAFE.
AND….
2. OUR TENDENCY TO REMEMBER GOOD THINGS MORE FONDLY AND LET THE BAD THINGS FADE AWAY.
THE COMBINATION OF THESE TWO BIASES SETS THE TABLE FOR AN EASY CONCLUSION IN OUR MINDS:
THAT MORALITY USED TO BE FINE, BUT WE ARE IN TROUBLE NOW.
IT’S SO EASY FOR US TO STARE INTO OUR SMARTPHONES AND GET SUCKED INTO A VIDEO OF SOMEONE…SO OFTEN LABELED A “KAREN” …ON AN AIRPLANE, KICKING THE SEAT OF THE PERON IN FRONT OF HER BECAUSE THEY LEANED THE SEAT BACK A FEW INCHES. WE WATCH HER GET CARRIED DOWN THE ISLE, SLAPPING PEOPLE IN THE HEAD AS SHE GOES, AND WE SHAKE OUR HEADS, THINKING TO OURSELVES…” WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR COUNTRY?”
IT'S A GREAT QUESTION, ACTUALLY. I OFTEN ASK THE SAME ONE.
BUT, BEFORE WE JUMP TO ANY BROAD CONCLUSIONS BASED ON A FEW DRAMATIC EVENTS BROADCAST AND SHARED ALL OVER THE WORLD AND START TO SEE OUR FUTURE AS DARKER OR MORE DISTURBING THAN IT SHOULD BE, WE CAN’T FORGET ABOUT THE WAY OUR BRAINS OUR WIRED.
KAREN WILL ALWAYS BE KAREN BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE WERE KARENS THIRTY YEARS AGO, JUST AS THERE WERE 200 YEARS AGO. GOOD PEOPLE ARE STILL GOOD PEOPLE, AND THEY’RE JUST AS GOOD AS THE GOOD PEOPLE FROM YEARS’ PAST.
WE JUST CAN’T FORGET TO PAUSE, LOOK AROUND, AND VALUE THEM.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/are_people_really_becoming_less_ethical