The Effect of Horizontal and Vertical Spatial Orientations on Moral Judgments

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2024.05.005

Abstract

Abstract: The present study was to investigate whether Chinese participants’ judgments of moral dilemmas is affected by spatial perception and actions in different orientations and whether the effects of horizontal and vertical axes are similar. In specific, 6 experiments were conducted to evoke participants’ spatial perception in horizontal or vertical orientation through the position of the visual field, the direction of mental walking, and the orientation of the body. The results showed that compared to the right side, the mental walking and body orientation to the left caused the participants more likely to accept utilitarian behaviors. It was easier to accept utilitarian behaviors when the vertical orientation was going up than when it was downward. The study indicates an embodied connection between spatial orientation and moral judgment among Chinese participants, with a more stable metaphorical connection in the vertical dimension.

Key words: spatial metaphor, moral judgment, embodied cognitive theory

摘要： 为探究中国被试对道德困境的判断是否会受到不同方位空间感知及动作的影响，以及水平和垂直两个轴向的影响是否相同，进行了两项研究共6个实验，分别通过视野位置、心理行走方向和身体朝向诱发被试在水平或垂直方向的空间感知。结果发现：相比于右侧，向左侧的心理行走和身体朝向使被试更容易接受功利行为；垂直方位中向上比向下时更容易接受功利行为。结果表明，中国被试在水平和垂直方向均存在道德判断倾向的具身联结，垂直方向的隐喻联结更加稳定。

关键词: 空间隐喻, 道德判断, 具身认知理论

CLC Number:

B842

GUO Su, JING Shuzhen, FAN Ning. The Effect of Horizontal and Vertical Spatial Orientations on Moral Judgments[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2024, 22(5): 609-616.

国速, 靖淑针, 范宁. 水平和垂直的空间朝向对道德判断的影响[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2024, 22(5): 609-616.

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