Alain Marciano (UniTO)

Distasteful or Repugnant? How Social Context and Money Shape Moral Judgments

Venue: Campus Luigi Einaudi, room 3 D1 01

Abstract: Societies constantly face the complex task of defining the moral acceptability of certain behaviors, with crucial implications for shaping policies and ethical norms. How do individuals and communities draw the line between acceptable and repugnant behaviors, and how do the social context and exchange methods influence these judgments? This study explores these questions by examining personal and social norms across a continuum of ethically contentious human behaviors. Using a controlled experimental design, participants assess a range of 54 hypothetical transactions—e.g., organ sales, designer baby creation—on a four-point scale (“Normal,” “Tolerable,” “Distasteful,” “Repugnant”). We employ a 2×2 between-subject design, where we manipulate the social context (familiarity vs. strangeness) and exchange method (monetary vs. non-monetary). We hypothesize that most transactions should be deemed at least mildly unacceptable (“Distasteful” or “Repugnant”), and that familiarity and monetary exchanges exacerbate perceptions of repugnance. The findings inform ethical frameworks and policy-making on contentious transactions.