Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis

Jim A.C. Everett; Clara Colombatto; Edmond Awad; Paulo Boggio; Björn Bos; William J. Brady; Megha Chawla; Vladimir Chituc; Dongil Chung; Moritz A. Drupp; Srishti Goel; Brit Grosskopf; Frederik Hjorth; Alissa Ji; Caleb Kealoha; Judy S. Kim; Yangfei Lin; Yina Ma; Michel André Maréchal; Federico Mancinelli; Christoph Mathys; Asmus L. Olsen; Graeme Pearce; Annayah M.B. Prosser; Niv Reggev; Nicholas Sabin; Julien Senn; Yeon Soon Shin; Walter Sinnott-Armstrong; Hallgeir Sjåstad; Madelijn Strick; Sunhae Sul; Lars Tummers; Monique Turner; Hongbo Yu; Yoonseo Zoh; Molly J. Crockett

doi:10.1038/s41562-021-01156-y

Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis

Jim A.C. Everett, Clara Colombatto, Edmond Awad, Paulo Boggio, Björn Bos, William J. Brady, Megha Chawla, Vladimir Chituc, Dongil Chung, Moritz A. Drupp, Srishti Goel, Brit Grosskopf, Frederik Hjorth, Alissa Ji, Caleb Kealoha, Judy S. Kim, Yangfei Lin, Yina Ma, Michel André Maréchal, Federico MancinelliChristoph Mathys, Asmus L. Olsen, Graeme Pearce, Annayah M.B. Prosser, Niv Reggev, Nicholas Sabin, Julien Senn, Yeon Soon Shin, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Hallgeir Sjåstad, Madelijn Strick, Sunhae Sul, Lars Tummers, Monique Turner, Hongbo Yu, Yoonseo Zoh, Molly J. Crockett

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Abstract: Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others (‘instrumental harm’) reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally (‘impartial beneficence’) may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioural (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioural measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis. Protocol Registration Statement: The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 13 November 2020. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13247315.v1.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1074-1088
Number of pages	15
Journal	Nature Human Behaviour
Volume	5
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01156-y
State	Published - Aug 2021
Externally published	Yes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Social Psychology
Behavioral Neuroscience

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10.1038/s41562-021-01156-y

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Everett, J. A. C., Colombatto, C., Awad, E., Boggio, P., Bos, B., Brady, W. J., Chawla, M., Chituc, V., Chung, D., Drupp, M. A., Goel, S., Grosskopf, B., Hjorth, F., Ji, A., Kealoha, C., Kim, J. S., Lin, Y., Ma, Y., Maréchal, M. A., ... Crockett, M. J. (2021). Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(8), 1074-1088. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01156-y

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title = "Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis",

abstract = "Abstract: Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others ({\textquoteleft}instrumental harm{\textquoteright}) reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally ({\textquoteleft}impartial beneficence{\textquoteright}) may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioural (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioural measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis. Protocol Registration Statement: The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 13 November 2020. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13247315.v1.",

author = "Everett, {Jim A.C.} and Clara Colombatto and Edmond Awad and Paulo Boggio and Bj{\"o}rn Bos and Brady, {William J.} and Megha Chawla and Vladimir Chituc and Dongil Chung and Drupp, {Moritz A.} and Srishti Goel and Brit Grosskopf and Frederik Hjorth and Alissa Ji and Caleb Kealoha and Kim, {Judy S.} and Yangfei Lin and Yina Ma and Mar{\'e}chal, {Michel Andr{\'e}} and Federico Mancinelli and Christoph Mathys and Olsen, {Asmus L.} and Graeme Pearce and Prosser, {Annayah M.B.} and Niv Reggev and Nicholas Sabin and Julien Senn and Shin, {Yeon Soon} and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Hallgeir Sj{\aa}stad and Madelijn Strick and Sunhae Sul and Lars Tummers and Monique Turner and Hongbo Yu and Yoonseo Zoh and Crockett, {Molly J.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.",

year = "2021",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1038/s41562-021-01156-y",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "5",

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Everett, JAC, Colombatto, C, Awad, E, Boggio, P, Bos, B, Brady, WJ, Chawla, M, Chituc, V, Chung, D, Drupp, MA, Goel, S, Grosskopf, B, Hjorth, F, Ji, A, Kealoha, C, Kim, JS, Lin, Y, Ma, Y, Maréchal, MA, Mancinelli, F, Mathys, C, Olsen, AL, Pearce, G, Prosser, AMB, Reggev, N, Sabin, N, Senn, J, Shin, YS, Sinnott-Armstrong, W, Sjåstad, H, Strick, M, Sul, S, Tummers, L, Turner, M, Yu, H, Zoh, Y & Crockett, MJ 2021, 'Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis', Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 1074-1088. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01156-y

TY - JOUR

T1 - Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis

AU - Everett, Jim A.C.

AU - Colombatto, Clara

AU - Awad, Edmond

AU - Boggio, Paulo

AU - Bos, Björn

AU - Brady, William J.

AU - Chawla, Megha

AU - Chituc, Vladimir

AU - Chung, Dongil

AU - Drupp, Moritz A.

AU - Goel, Srishti

AU - Grosskopf, Brit

AU - Hjorth, Frederik

AU - Ji, Alissa

AU - Kealoha, Caleb

AU - Kim, Judy S.

AU - Lin, Yangfei

AU - Ma, Yina

AU - Maréchal, Michel André

AU - Mancinelli, Federico

AU - Mathys, Christoph

AU - Olsen, Asmus L.

AU - Pearce, Graeme

AU - Prosser, Annayah M.B.

AU - Reggev, Niv

AU - Sabin, Nicholas

AU - Senn, Julien

AU - Shin, Yeon Soon

AU - Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter

AU - Sjåstad, Hallgeir

AU - Strick, Madelijn

AU - Sul, Sunhae

AU - Tummers, Lars

AU - Turner, Monique

AU - Yu, Hongbo

AU - Zoh, Yoonseo

AU - Crockett, Molly J.

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - Abstract: Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others (‘instrumental harm’) reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally (‘impartial beneficence’) may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioural (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioural measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis. Protocol Registration Statement: The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 13 November 2020. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13247315.v1.

AB - Abstract: Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others (‘instrumental harm’) reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally (‘impartial beneficence’) may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioural (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioural measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis. Protocol Registration Statement: The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 13 November 2020. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13247315.v1.

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EP - 1088

JO - Nature Human Behaviour

JF - Nature Human Behaviour

IS - 8

ER -

Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis

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