Deamer Samantha K, Sonnentag Tammy L, Wadian Taylor W
West Virginia University Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, USA.
School of Psychology, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Psychol Rep. 2024 Jul 23:332941241265316. doi: 10.1177/00332941241265316.
Many White Americans are unaware of or tend to deny the existence of White privilege. One potential explanation for this denial is the belief that America functions as a meritocracy. Prior research suggests that morally reframed messages can change individuals' beliefs when the reframed messages align with their personal moral values. Contributing to the literature on morally reframed messages, the current pair of studies challenged individuals' beliefs about meritocracy in order to promote their awareness of White privilege. After demonstrating that morally reframed messages about America as a meritocracy can meaningful reflect five distinct moral foundations (i.e., Harm/Care, Fairness/Reciprocity, Loyalty/Betrayal, Authority/Respect, Purity/Sanctity), the current studies revealed that individuals who endorsed the moral values of Authority/Respect, Loyalty/Betrayal, and Purity/Sanctity (the binding foundations) reported stronger beliefs in meritocracy and less awareness of White privilege, whereas individuals who endorsed the moral values of Harm/Care and Fairness/Reciprocity (individualizing foundations) reported weaker beliefs in meritocracy and greater awareness of White privilege (Studies 1 and 2). Although the morally reframed messages promoted individuals' White privilege awareness compared to a control message (Study 2), the effectiveness of the messages was not enhanced when the messages aligned with individuals' moral values (Studies 1 and 2). The current pair of studies is the first to examine if individuals' endorsement of the five moral foundations can be used to change their beliefs about White privilege.
许多美国白人没有意识到或倾向于否认白人特权的存在。这种否认的一个潜在解释是他们认为美国是一个精英统治的国家。先前的研究表明，当重新构建的信息与个人道德价值观一致时，从道德角度重新构建的信息可以改变个人的信念。为丰富关于从道德角度重新构建信息的文献，当前这两项研究对个人关于精英统治的信念提出挑战，以提高他们对白人特权的认识。在证明从道德角度将美国重新构建为精英统治的信息能够有意义地反映五个不同的道德基础（即伤害/关怀、公平/互惠、忠诚/背叛、权威/尊重、纯洁/神圣）之后，当前研究表明，认同权威/尊重、忠诚/背叛和纯洁/神圣（约束性基础）道德价值观的个体对精英统治的信念更强，对白人特权的认识更少，而认同伤害/关怀和公平/互惠（个体化基础）道德价值观的个体对精英统治的信念更弱，对白人特权的认识更强（研究1和研究2）。尽管与对照信息相比，从道德角度重新构建的信息提高了个体对白人特权的认识（研究2），但当这些信息与个体的道德价值观一致时，其效果并未增强（研究1和研究2）。当前这两项研究首次探讨了个体对五个道德基础的认同是否可用于改变他们对白人特权的信念。
