Jan Stets Michael J. Carter University of California, Riverside
This project is a two-part, year long study that examines how social context influences processes related to the moral self, behavior, and emotions. Recent work in identity theory, a sociological social psychological theory, has shown how we can understand the moral self from the identity process by revealing how an actor's moral identity serves as a standard which influences normative behavior and emotions. This project uses identity theory as a framework to study how one's moral identity, normative behavior, and emotions operate when considering three context factors: 1) the activation of the moral identity in a situation, 2) group membership, and 3) relative status of group members. In Part 1 of the study, participants fill out a survey which measures dimensions of the moral identity, and their behavior and emotions in hypothetical situations laced with moral codes. In Part 2 of the study, an experiment is conducted to examine how one's moral identity operates across the previous three context factors when these same participants are placed in a situation where they can choose to act normatively or counter-normatively. The broader impact of this project is to better understand how the moral self influences behavior and feelings in situations. By beginning to decipher how dimensions of the moral self affect one's behavior and feelings, this project will provide a broader understanding of how and why actors choose "normative" or "counter-normative" courses of action in a given situation.
