Toward a predictive model of moral concern
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9007656 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bastian Jaeger (Tilburg University, corresponding author), Matti Wilks (0000-0003-3814-3763, University of Edinburgh), Caspar Van Lissa (0000-0002-0808-5024, Tilburg University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 124 |
| Pages | 104880-104880 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-1031 • E-ISSN: 1096-0465 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jesp.2026.104880 |
| OpenAlex | W7124581457 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
At the heart of many contentious debates (e.g., on abortion, immigration, or meat consumption, is the question of how much we ought to weigh the welfare and interests of different entities. Previous research has identified numerous characteristics that predict how much concern people show toward different entities, such as empathy or perceived similarity. However, many of these characteristics are correlated, making it difficult to disentangle their unique relation to moral concern, and there is little evidence on the relative importance of different characteristics. We aim to address these issues and move the field toward an integrative model of moral concern. We reviewed the literature to identify hypothesized predictors of moral concern. We will then use a machine learning approach to simultaneously test all identified predictors and build an integrative and parsimonious predictive model ( n = 800 U.S. participants). Our findings will provide insights into (1) how accurately we can predict moral concern with the characteristics that were identified in previous research, and (2) which characteristics are most important for predicting moral concern
Defining Issues Test · Empathy · Field (mathematics · Moral disengagement · Morality · Relation (database · Social cognitive theory of morality · Test (biology · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Ethics in Business and Education · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Factors influencing human attitudes to animals and their welfare
Why do right-wing adherents engage in more animal exploitation and meat consumption?
Social dominance orientation connects prejudicial human–human and human–animal relations
Beyond sacrificial harm
Dimensions of Mind Perception
Common Ideological Roots of Speciesism and Generalized Ethnic Prejudice
The Nomological Net of the Hexaco Model of Personality
Which Facial Features Are Central in Impression Formation
When Meat Gets Personal, Animals’ Minds Matter Less
You're Inferior and Not Worth Our Concern
Who gives? Characteristics of those who have taken the Giving What We Can pledge
Are empathy and concern psychologically distinct
Investigating right wing authoritarianism with a very short authoritarianism scale
The 24-item Brief Hexaco Inventory (BHI)
An analysis of five measures of global human identification
Longitudinal effects of human supremacy beliefs and vegetarianism threat on moral exclusion (vs. inclusion) of animals
Predicting Protection
Moral Emotions and Social Activism
Moral expansiveness
Microbes, mating, and morality
The moral standing of animals
The nature of social dominance orientation
Experimental Approaches to Moral Standing
Empathy and attitudes to animals
Personality, empathy and attitudes to animal welfare
The Moral Divide Between High- and Low-Status Animals
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |