Podcast: The psychology of moral certainty

Moral convictions – beliefs about what is right and wrong – have an intuitive power that makes us feel that they are objectively true, even though they involve subjective states of mind. The paradox is that when we are in the grips of moral conviction we forget their subjectivity and experience them as fact, the same way two plus two equals four.

This episode of the Hidden Brain podcast features psychologist Linda Skitka and explores how we experience moral convictions and the impact. Most of us have the moral conviction that murder is wrong but how do our moral convictions play out when it comes to polarised issues that impact policy, our trust in institutions or even public health? What is the relationship between listening to experts and challenging our own moral convictions?

Skitka’s research shows that people in the grips of a moral conviction approve of break rules and norms to achieve their ends, which is a double-edged sword:

“We want people who have the moral convictions that can allow them to resist malevolent authority. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine a civil society functioning very long if we don't have some basic obedience to common norms of conduct.”