Kathryn B Francis
Biographic Data
| ID | 1290719 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kathryn B Francis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kathryn B |
| FAMILY NAME | Francis |
| SIGNATURE | FRANCIS K B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Keele University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3875-8904 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 11 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
People defer to AI moral advice, but not blindly
As AI large language models (LLMs) become increasingly embedded in everyday technologies, should we be concerned about their capacity to influence human beliefs - particularly in the moral domain? Being persuaded because one is convinced by the LLM-generated reasons can support the moral and intellectual growth of users, while being persuaded because one defers to the LLM can prevent, or even reverse, growth and understanding. In three studies, w…
The Changing Moral Environment—A Three-Wave Study Testing Four Moral Theories and the Fear of Covid-19 in Predicting Compliance with Behavioral Guidelines on Covid-19, Moralization Toward Non-Complian…
Governments across the globe imposed behavioral restrictions to halt the spread of the COVID-19. These preventive behaviors became a moralized issue and engagement in those behaviors varied. In moral psychology, there are various theoretical frameworks with measures of individual differences that concern the way we form moral judgments. In a pre-registered longitudinal three-wave project started before the pandemic, we examined the predictive pow…
Minding some animals but not others: Strategic attributions of mental capacities and moral worth to animals used for food in pescatarians, vegetarians, and omnivores
While moral concern for animals has become increasingly important for both consumer food choice and food policy makers, previous research demonstrated that meat eaters attribute lower moral status and mental capacities to animals raised for meat compared to non-food animals. The current research investigated whether this strategic flexibility in moral concern and mind perceptions also occurs when considering aquatic food animals and animals used …
To beckon or not to beckon: Testing a causal-evaluative modelling approach to moral judgment: A registered report
Moral judgments are increasingly being understood as showing context dependent variability. A growing literature has identified a range of specific contextual factors (e.g., emotions, intentions) that can influence moral judgments in predictable ways. Integrating these diverse influences into a unified approach to understanding moral judgments remains a challenge. Recent work by Railton (2017) attempted to address this with a causal-evaluative mo…
Empathy training through virtual reality: Moral enhancement with the freedom to fall
An empirical investigation of intuitions about uptake
Since Austin’s introduction of the locutionary-illocutionary-perlocutionary distinction, it has been a matter of debate within speech act theory whether illocutionary acts like promising, warning, refusing and telling require audience ‘uptake’ in order to be performed. Philosophers on different sides of this debate have tried to support their positions by appealing to hypothetical scenarios, designed to elicit intuitive judgements about the role …
Moral emotions and justifying beliefs about meat, fish, dairy and egg consumption: A comparative study of dietary groups
Meat eaters and meat abstainers differ in their beliefs and moral emotions related to meat consumption alongside gender differences. Few studies have investigated beliefs and moral emotions in pescatarians and vegans. Little is known about differences in moral emotions and beliefs regarding dairy, eggs, and fish or about speciesist beliefs within and between specific dietary groups. To address this gap, we investigated moral emotions (consumption…
Feeling morally troubled about meat, dairy, egg, and fish consumption: Dissonance reduction strategies among different dietary groups
A largescale shift towards plant-based diets is considered a critical requirement for tackling ethical, environmental, and global health issues associated with animal food production and consumption. Although previous research has identified psychological strategies that enable meat-eaters to justify and continue meat consumption and feel less morally conflicted about it, research on the psychological strategies that enable consumers to continue …
Moral psychology of nursing robots: Exploring the role of robots in dilemmas of patient autonomy
Artificial intelligences (AIs) are widely used in tasks ranging from transportation to healthcare and military, but it is not yet known how people prefer them to act in ethically difficult situations. In five studies (an anthropological field study, n = 30, and four experiments, total n = 2150), we presented people with vignettes where a human or an advanced robot nurse is ordered by a doctor to forcefully medicate an unwilling patient. Participa…
The role of confidence in knowledge ascriptions: An evidence-seeking approach
Two methods have been used in the investigation of the stakes-sensitivity of knowledge as it occurs in ordinary language: (a) asking participants about the truth or acceptability of knowledge ascriptions and (b) asking participants how much evidence someone needs to gather before they know that something is the case. This second, “evidence-seeking”, method has reliably found effects of stakes-sensitivity while the method of asking about knowledge…
Virtual morality in the helping professions: Simulated action and resilience
Recent advances in virtual technologies have allowed the investigation of simulated moral actions in aversive moral dilemmas. Previous studies have employed diverse populations to explore these actions, with little research considering the significance of occupation on moral decision-making. For the first time, in this study we have investigated simulated moral actions in virtual reality made by professionally trained paramedics and fire service …
Making Mind: Moral Sense and Consciousness in Philosophy, Science, and Literature
October 01 2015 Making Mind: Moral Sense and Consciousness in Philosophy, Science, and Literature Making Mind: Moral Sense and Consciousness in Philosophy, Science, and Literature by Gregory F.Tague. Rodopi, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and New York, NY, U.S.A., 2014. 319 pp. Paper. ISBN: 978-90-420-3895-0. Kathryn Francis Kathryn Francis Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Kathryn Fran…
Moral emotions and justifying beliefs about meat, fish, dairy and egg consumption: A comparative study of dietary groups
Meat eaters and meat abstainers differ in their beliefs and moral emotions related to meat consumption alongside gender differences. Few studies have investigated beliefs and moral emotions in pescatarians and vegans. Little is known about differences in moral emotions and beliefs regarding dairy, eggs, and fish or about speciesist beliefs within and between specific dietary groups. To address this gap, we investigated moral emotions (consumption…
Feeling morally troubled about meat, dairy, egg, and fish consumption: Dissonance reduction strategies among different dietary groups
A largescale shift towards plant-based diets is considered a critical requirement for tackling ethical, environmental, and global health issues associated with animal food production and consumption. Although previous research has identified psychological strategies that enable meat-eaters to justify and continue meat consumption and feel less morally conflicted about it, research on the psychological strategies that enable consumers to continue …
Moral psychology of nursing robots: Exploring the role of robots in dilemmas of patient autonomy
Artificial intelligences (AIs) are widely used in tasks ranging from transportation to healthcare and military, but it is not yet known how people prefer them to act in ethically difficult situations. In five studies (an anthropological field study, n = 30, and four experiments, total n = 2150), we presented people with vignettes where a human or an advanced robot nurse is ordered by a doctor to forcefully medicate an unwilling patient. Participa…
The role of confidence in knowledge ascriptions: An evidence-seeking approach
Two methods have been used in the investigation of the stakes-sensitivity of knowledge as it occurs in ordinary language: (a) asking participants about the truth or acceptability of knowledge ascriptions and (b) asking participants how much evidence someone needs to gather before they know that something is the case. This second, “evidence-seeking”, method has reliably found effects of stakes-sensitivity while the method of asking about knowledge…
Making Mind: Moral Sense and Consciousness in Philosophy, Science, and Literature
October 01 2015 Making Mind: Moral Sense and Consciousness in Philosophy, Science, and Literature Making Mind: Moral Sense and Consciousness in Philosophy, Science, and Literature by Gregory F.Tague. Rodopi, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and New York, NY, U.S.A., 2014. 319 pp. Paper. ISBN: 978-90-420-3895-0. Kathryn Francis Kathryn Francis Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Kathryn Fran…
Virtual morality in the helping professions: Simulated action and resilience
Recent advances in virtual technologies have allowed the investigation of simulated moral actions in aversive moral dilemmas. Previous studies have employed diverse populations to explore these actions, with little research considering the significance of occupation on moral decision-making. For the first time, in this study we have investigated simulated moral actions in virtual reality made by professionally trained paramedics and fire service …
Empathy training through virtual reality: Moral enhancement with the freedom to fall
An empirical investigation of intuitions about uptake
Since Austin’s introduction of the locutionary-illocutionary-perlocutionary distinction, it has been a matter of debate within speech act theory whether illocutionary acts like promising, warning, refusing and telling require audience ‘uptake’ in order to be performed. Philosophers on different sides of this debate have tried to support their positions by appealing to hypothetical scenarios, designed to elicit intuitive judgements about the role …
Moral emotions and justifying beliefs about meat, fish, dairy and egg consumption: A comparative study of dietary groups
Meat eaters and meat abstainers differ in their beliefs and moral emotions related to meat consumption alongside gender differences. Few studies have investigated beliefs and moral emotions in pescatarians and vegans. Little is known about differences in moral emotions and beliefs regarding dairy, eggs, and fish or about speciesist beliefs within and between specific dietary groups. To address this gap, we investigated moral emotions (consumption…
Feeling morally troubled about meat, dairy, egg, and fish consumption: Dissonance reduction strategies among different dietary groups
A largescale shift towards plant-based diets is considered a critical requirement for tackling ethical, environmental, and global health issues associated with animal food production and consumption. Although previous research has identified psychological strategies that enable meat-eaters to justify and continue meat consumption and feel less morally conflicted about it, research on the psychological strategies that enable consumers to continue …
Moral psychology of nursing robots: Exploring the role of robots in dilemmas of patient autonomy
Artificial intelligences (AIs) are widely used in tasks ranging from transportation to healthcare and military, but it is not yet known how people prefer them to act in ethically difficult situations. In five studies (an anthropological field study, n = 30, and four experiments, total n = 2150), we presented people with vignettes where a human or an advanced robot nurse is ordered by a doctor to forcefully medicate an unwilling patient. Participa…
The role of confidence in knowledge ascriptions: An evidence-seeking approach
Two methods have been used in the investigation of the stakes-sensitivity of knowledge as it occurs in ordinary language: (a) asking participants about the truth or acceptability of knowledge ascriptions and (b) asking participants how much evidence someone needs to gather before they know that something is the case. This second, “evidence-seeking”, method has reliably found effects of stakes-sensitivity while the method of asking about knowledge…
The Changing Moral Environment—A Three-Wave Study Testing Four Moral Theories and the Fear of Covid-19 in Predicting Compliance with Behavioral Guidelines on Covid-19, Moralization Toward Non-Complian…
Governments across the globe imposed behavioral restrictions to halt the spread of the COVID-19. These preventive behaviors became a moralized issue and engagement in those behaviors varied. In moral psychology, there are various theoretical frameworks with measures of individual differences that concern the way we form moral judgments. In a pre-registered longitudinal three-wave project started before the pandemic, we examined the predictive pow…
Minding some animals but not others: Strategic attributions of mental capacities and moral worth to animals used for food in pescatarians, vegetarians, and omnivores
While moral concern for animals has become increasingly important for both consumer food choice and food policy makers, previous research demonstrated that meat eaters attribute lower moral status and mental capacities to animals raised for meat compared to non-food animals. The current research investigated whether this strategic flexibility in moral concern and mind perceptions also occurs when considering aquatic food animals and animals used …
To beckon or not to beckon: Testing a causal-evaluative modelling approach to moral judgment: A registered report
Moral judgments are increasingly being understood as showing context dependent variability. A growing literature has identified a range of specific contextual factors (e.g., emotions, intentions) that can influence moral judgments in predictable ways. Integrating these diverse influences into a unified approach to understanding moral judgments remains a challenge. Recent work by Railton (2017) attempted to address this with a causal-evaluative mo…
People defer to AI moral advice, but not blindly
As AI large language models (LLMs) become increasingly embedded in everyday technologies, should we be concerned about their capacity to influence human beliefs - particularly in the moral domain? Being persuaded because one is convinced by the LLM-generated reasons can support the moral and intellectual growth of users, while being persuaded because one defers to the LLM can prevent, or even reverse, growth and understanding. In three studies, w…
Psychology (10 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment (8 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact (3 works) · Biology (3 works) · Computer Science (3 works) · Moral disengagement (3 works) · Philosophy (3 works) · Animal and Plant Science Education (2 works)