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New paper out!
We (w/ Jesse Graham & @MortezDehghani) examined the foundations of morality in Iran!
To appear in the upcoming Special Issue of @HumBehEvoSoc edited by @JoHenrich & @corenapicella & Ara Norenzayan.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.07.014
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We (w/ Jesse Graham & @MortezDehghani) examined the foundations of morality in Iran!
To appear in the upcoming Special Issue of @HumBehEvoSoc edited by @JoHenrich & @corenapicella & Ara Norenzayan.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2020.07.014
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We investigated the utility of Moral Foundations Theory in Iran, built a bottom-up model of moral values, and introduced a new moral foundation called "Qeirat" (غیرت) which explains a whole lot of outcomes in Iranian context. We find that...
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-Unlike in many WEIRD countries, Moral Foundations Questionnaire does not do well in Iran (at all).
-The network of moral foundations differ between Iran and the US.
-MFQ scores are not comparable between Iran and the US.
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-The network of moral foundations differ between Iran and the US.
-MFQ scores are not comparable between Iran and the US.
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So, what should be done?
We employed a mixed-methods approach to build a model of moral values in Iran. First, we did a bunch of interviews and open-ended questions about virtues and vices in Iranian culture.
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We employed a mixed-methods approach to build a model of moral values in Iran. First, we did a bunch of interviews and open-ended questions about virtues and vices in Iranian culture.
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Then we found that "Qeirat" and related concepts (e.g., Sharaf [شرف], Haya[حیا], Namoos[ناموس], Aberoo[آبرو]) are central in moral cognition in Iranian culture. Qeirat does not have a straight English translation, but the closest term is "honor".
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So, we measured Qeirat values and found them to be correlated with a bunch of important outcomes above and beyond the 5 moral foundations, and even honor values. Specifically, Qeirat was linked to Islamic religiosity, political conservatism, loyalty, & purity.
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We found that Qeirat values are about protecting, supporting, devoting, & loving mate, family, female kin, and country.
If you are interested to learn more about this construct please check out this amazing preprint by @pooya_rzv et al:
https://psyarxiv.com/8ev23
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If you are interested to learn more about this construct please check out this amazing preprint by @pooya_rzv et al:
https://psyarxiv.com/8ev23
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I'd like to highlight three points:
(A) I do believe that researcher diversity is quite important, as is sample diversity, but the former receives less attention (see Medin, 2010, 2017). WEIRD social scientists = WEIRD social science.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0088
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(A) I do believe that researcher diversity is quite important, as is sample diversity, but the former receives less attention (see Medin, 2010, 2017). WEIRD social scientists = WEIRD social science.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-017-0088
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(B) Qualitative work (especially in non-WEIRD contexts) is cool and can uncover things that you never would have thought.
(C) Descriptive studies are absolutely needed in social/personality/evolutionary/cultural/moral psychology (see Rozin, 2001).
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0501_1
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(C) Descriptive studies are absolutely needed in social/personality/evolutionary/cultural/moral psychology (see Rozin, 2001).
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0501_1
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