Empathy and need for closure are linked to moral foundations and political orientation: A replication study in Japan

Abstract

Scholars have explained political orientation and morality as a consequence of epistemic needs and empathic motivation. In this study, we replicate previous research on the influence of psychological states on moral foundations, system justification, and political orientation among Japanese participants. Consistent with previous findings, empathy is positively associated with care and fairness (called individualizing foundations) whereas epistemic needs to manage certainty (e.g., need for closure) are positively associated with ingroup loyalty, respect for authority, and purity (called binding foundations). Empathy and the need for closure indirectly affect political orientation and system justification through their influence on moral foundations. Contrary to previous findings, we find empathy to be positively associated with binding foundations whereas the need for closure is positively associated with individualizing foundations. We discuss the implications of these findings to show that moral foundations are a result of motivated social cognition. Moral foundations theory (Graham et al., 2013) suggests that different moral foundations evolutionarily arose in response to various adaptive challenges. The theory mainly refers to five such foundations: care for the disadvantaged (care), a sense of fairness (fairness), ingroup loyalty (loyalty), respect for authority (authority), and purity and sanctity (purity). According to Haidt & Graham (2007), differences in sensitivity to distinct moral foundations result in the different political attitudes of liberals and conservatives. Conservatives are more likely to consider moral issues related to loyalty, authority, and purity (called binding foundations), whereas liberals are more likely to consider moral issues related to care and fairness (called individualizing foundations). In contrast, Jost et al. (2003), focusing on individuals' responses to uncertainty and threat, proposed another possibility. Their meta-analysis indicated that political conservatism is positively associated with psychological variables related to resistance to change and justification of inequality (e.g., need for order, structure, and closure), which reflects system justification: the motivation to defend the current socioeconomic situation. The finding of Jost et al. (2003) suggests that political conservatism is motivated by epistemic and existential needs to attain certainty and reduce threat, such as terror management and the need for closure.