Timbs Casey L, Maranges Heather M
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2025 Jul 17;15(7):970. doi: 10.3390/bs15070970.
Negative weight-based attitudes are pervasive and difficult to change. One reason may be the moralization of weight: if people use higher weight as a cue for lower self-control, they may infer lower moral character, given the strong link between self-control and morality. Moralized attitudes tend to be resistant to change. Accordingly, we tested whether (1) people perceived others with higher (vs. lower) weight as having lower self-control and, in turn, morality and (2) whether targeting control-related perceptions attenuated the weight → self-control → morality links. To that end, in two preregistered experiments (see OSF), we employed intervention strategies targeting control-related perceptions to increase moral evaluations of higher-weight individuals. Specifically, we provided evidence of a higher-weight person's (a) weight uncontrollability (Study 1) and (b) high self-control (Study 2). People perceived higher-weight targets as having lower self-control, and this predicted perceptions of lower moral character. However, as with extant weight-based attitude interventions, neither experimental intervention strategy attenuated less positive (i.e., made more positive) moral character perceptions. These findings suggest that it is not enough to intervene on control-related beliefs to reduce the moralization of weight. We suggest intervening on moral perceptions directly and the possibility that moralization of weight may be automatic, requiring interventions targeting automatic attitudes.
基于体重的负面态度普遍存在且难以改变。一个原因可能是体重的道德化：如果人们将较高的体重视为较低自我控制能力的暗示，鉴于自我控制与道德之间的紧密联系，他们可能会推断出较低的道德品质。道德化的态度往往难以改变。因此，我们测试了：（1）人们是否认为体重较高（相对于较低）的人自我控制能力较低，进而道德水平也较低；以及（2）针对与控制相关的认知进行干预是否会削弱体重→自我控制→道德之间的联系。为此，在两项预先注册的实验（见开放科学框架）中，我们采用了针对与控制相关认知的干预策略，以提高对体重较高个体的道德评价。具体而言，我们提供了体重较高者（a）体重不可控性的证据（研究1）和（b）高自我控制能力的证据（研究2）。人们认为体重较高的目标对象自我控制能力较低，而这又预示着对其较低道德品质的认知。然而，与现有的基于体重的态度干预一样，这两种实验干预策略都没有减弱（即使其更积极）对道德品质的认知。这些发现表明，仅干预与控制相关的信念不足以减少体重的道德化。我们建议直接干预道德认知，以及体重道德化可能是自动产生的，这需要针对自动态度的干预措施。
