Psychological Humanities and Ethics Lecture Series

Introduction

• Host: Mookie Manalili
• Guest: Dr. Liane Young
  • Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College
  • Director of the Morality Lab
  • Background: BA in Philosophy, PhD in Psychology (Harvard), Postdoc at MIT
  • Research Focus: Human moral psychology, social psychology and neuroscience
  • Acclaimed Work: Published in national journals and news outlets

Dr. Liane Young's Background and Interest

• Initial interest in moral dilemmas and philosophy during undergraduate studies
• Transitioned to psychology to understand moral intuitions and judgments
• Focus on intentions in moral judgments (e.g., murder vs. manslaughter)
• Exploring how social contexts influence moral psychology

Lecture Focus

• Influence of social context on moral psychology
• Theory of mind (ToM) and reasoning in moral judgments
• Morality as a complex structure underlying feelings of good vs. bad

Research Topics Discussed

1. Theory of Mind Across Social Contexts

• Brain regions involved: RTPJ, LTPJ, precuneus, DMPFC
• Theory of mind necessary for both cooperative and competitive contexts
• Study with 'shapes game' showing ToM engaged similarly in both contexts
  • Differences in brain region patterns for competition vs. cooperation

2. Moral Updating

• Examined how people update impressions of others when surprised by behavior
• Study design: Presenting sequences of positive/negative behaviors
• Findings:
  • Greater updating in response to negative surprises than positive
  • Brain regions (DMPFC, RTPJ) show activity in response to surprising moral information
  • Strong priors cause less updating, suggesting rational belief maintenance

3. Judging Close vs. Distant Others

• Friends vs. strangers in moral assessments
• Findings:
  • Less updating of impressions for friends compared to strangers
  • Evidence of bias; maintaining positive impressions of friends
  • Impact of biased perceptions on social relationships

4. Judgments of Others in Favoring Close vs. Distant Others

• Study on moral judgments of favoritism and impartiality
• Findings:
  • People credit those helping strangers more due to lack of obligation
  • Obligations influence moral judgments in different contexts

Conclusion

• ToM as a tool for understanding others' intentions and actions
• Importance of context in interpreting moral actions and beliefs

Final Thoughts

• Importance of considering broader contexts in moral psychology
• Invitation to think deeply about these processes in relation to ethics and human behavior

Acknowledgments

• Thanks expressed to organizers and collaborators for facilitating the lecture