The Effect Of Protagonist’s Emotion On Moral Judgment

Emotions play an important role in the process of moral judgment, different emotional states can affect individual’s moral judgment. But most of the researchers induced individual emotional state directly to study the influence of emotion in moral judgment, without using the moral dilemma characters’emotion. Therefore, this study used the moral dilemma characters’(the moral agent, the rescued, the victim) emotion, to discuss the influence of protagonist’s emotion in moral judgment.In study one, we discussed the influence of the moral agent’s emotion in moral judgment. There were three experiments, experiment one explored the influence of moral judgment before the moral agent makes decision’s emotion, used3(before the moral agent makes decision’s emotion: pleasure group, sad group, control group) x2(moral dilemma:"personal dilemma","impersonal dilemma") two-factor mixed experiment design, the emotional states were serving as between-subjects factors, moral dilemma version as within-subjects factors, the dependent variable was the utilitarian judgment in what extent to violate moral evaluation. Experiment two, explored the influence of moral judgment after the moral agent makes decision’s emotion, used3(after the moral agent makes decision’s emotion:pleasure group, pain group, control group) x2(moral dilemma:"personal dilemma","impersonal dilemma") two-factor mixed experiment design, the emotional states were serving as between-subjects factors, moral dilemma version as within-subjects factors, the dependent variable was the utilitarian judgment in what extent to violate moral evaluation. Experiment three, explored the influence of moral judgment before and after the moral agent makes decision’s emotion conversion, used5(emotion conversion:sad turned pain group, sad turned pleasure group, pleasure turned pain group, pleasure turned pleasure group, control group) x2(moral dilemma:"personal dilemma","impersonal dilemma") two-factor mixed experiment design, the emotional states conversion were serving as between-subjects factors, moral dilemma version as within-subjects factors, the dependent variable was the utilitarian judgment in what extent to violate moral evaluation. In study two, we discussed the influence of the rescued’s emotion in moral judgment. Experiment four explored the influence of the rescued’s emotion in moral judgment, used3(the rescued’s emotion:pleasure group, sad group, control group) x2(moral dilemma:"personal dilemma","impersonal dilemma") two-factor mixed experiment design, the rescued’s emotional states were serving as berween-subjects factors, moral dilemma version as within-subjects factors, the dependent variable was the possibility of choose utilitarian judgment.In study three, we discussed the influence of the victim’s emotion in moral judgment. Experiment five explored the influence of the victim’s emotion in moral judgment, used3(the victim’s emotion: pleasure group, sad group, control group) x2(moral dilemma:"personal dilemma","impersonal dilemma") two-factor mixed experiment design, the victim’s emotional states were serving as between-subjects factors, moral dilemma version as within-subjects factors, the dependent variable was the possibility of choose utilitarian judgment.The results shown that:(1) the protagonist’s emotion affects moral judgment;(2) the type of moral dilemma affects moral judgment;(3) the protagonist’s emotion will have different impact on moral judgment, because of the protagonist’s emotion appears in different occasion and different conversion;(4) positive and negative emotions might have different influence on moral judgment, because of point to different protagonist.