MORAL FOUNDATIONS

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REFERENCE
ELEPHANT/RIDER MODEL
- 1 Elephant/Rider Model
- 2 The Elephant…
  - 2.1 Training the Elephant
  - 2.2 Retraining the Elephant
  - 2.3 Feeding the Elephant
  - 2.4 Bias in the Elephant
- 3 The Rider…
  - 3.1 When the Rider Leads!
  - 3.2 Rider Modes
    - 3.2.1 Observing Self
    - 3.2.2 Processor Self
    - 3.2.3 The Inner Lawyer
  - 3.3 Bias in the Rider
- 4 Psychological Skills…
  - 4.1 #1 Psychological Skill
    - 4.1.1 Why Sitting Quietly
    - 4.1.2 Why SQ Works
    - 4.1.3 Ways to Engage SQ
  - 4.2 Self-Awareness
    - 4.2.1 The Observing Self
    - 4.2.2 Defusion
  - 4.3 Self-Regulation
    - 4.3.1 Step Back
    - 4.3.2 Acceptance
    - 4.3.5 Self-Talk
    - 4.3.7 Critical Thinking Skills
  - 4.4 CBT in the ERM
    - 4.4.1 Using CBT
  - 4.5 Workability
  - 4.6 Effective Criticism
  - 4.7 Appeal to the Elephant
- 5 Awakening…
  - 5.1 Conditioning
  - 5.2 Ignorance
    - 5.2.1 More on Ignorance
  - 5.3 Delusion
    - 5.3.1 The Elephant Duped
    - 5.3.2 A Dichotomy Disorder…
    - 5.3.3 The Wrath…
    - 5.3.4 Types of Delusion
SITTING QUIETLY
- Sitting Quietly
- 1 Self-Care…
  - 1.1 On Being…
  - 1.2 On Well-Being…
  - 1.3 On the Big Rocks…
  - 1.4 On Integrity
  - 1.5 Your North Star
- 2 Relaxation…
  - 2.1 Abdominal Breathing
  - 2.2 Box Breathing
  - 2.3 Relaxation Response
  - 2.4 A Calming Intervention
  - 2.5 Muscle Relaxation
- 3 The Observing Self…
  - 3.1 Using CBT
- 4 Defusion…
  - 4.1 …With Thoughts
  - 4.2 Getting Rid Of…
  - 4.3 …With Feelings
  - 4.4 …With Difficult Feelings
  - 4.5 …When Distressed
- 5 Acceptance
  - 5.1 Acceptance 101
LIFE PRACTICES
- Life Practices…
- 1 Self-Care
- 2 Well Being
- 3 Sitting Quietly
- 4 Personal Growth
  - 4.1 Awakening
  - 4.2 The Examined Life
  - 4.3 Goal Setting
- 5 The Habit of Discovery
- 6 Altruism (“Their-Care”)
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
- Change the World…
  - – The Captain
  - – The Subway
- Introduction to CBT
- Using CBT
- CBT Basic Concepts…
  - – Thoughts vs Feelings
  - – Core Beliefs & Conditioning
  - – Why We Learn
  - – Psychological Skills
- Defense Mechanisms
- Common Distortions
- Automatic Thoughts (ATs)
  - – Questioning ATs
  - – Examples of ATs
- Disputation Strategies
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...derive from Jonathan Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory, detailed in

The Righteous Mind, in which he proposes humans have innate moral "taste buds" or foundations as listed below. These six foundations form the building blocks of morality, but cultures and political groups emphasize different ones, explaining deep-seated moral disagreements.

______

On The Righteous Mind* by William Saletan

March 23, 2012

You’re smart. You’re liberal. You’re well informed. You think conservatives are narrow-minded. You can’t understand why working-class Americans vote Republican. You figure they’re being duped. You’re wrong.

Read more here...

These foundations... Close

Care/Harm

Sensitivity to suffering and vulnerability, promoting compassion and protection (e.g., protecting children).

sensitive to signs of suffering & need
makes us despise cruelty & care for those who suffer

Liberal [L] eg: Protect innocent victims like “Save Darfur”, “Don’t eat meat”, “Save the Planet”

Conservative [C] eg: Save the group like “Support our wounded”

1. Care/Harm Close

Fairness/Cheating

Focus on justice, rights, and proportional reciprocity (e.g., punishing cheaters, equality vs. proportionality).

evolved as adaptive challenge of reaping rewards of cooperation w/o getting exploited…
sensitive to signs of another person to be a good (or bad) partner for collaboration & reciprocal altruism
makes us want to shun, sanction, and punish cheaters
most people have a deep intuitive concern for the law of karma – we want to see cheaters punished and good efforts rewarded in proportion to their deeds

L: Concerns about equality & social justice (i.e., income disparity, opportunity), progressive taxation, Occupy Wall Street

C: Tea Party Movement (protecting rightfully earned pay from hard work rather than give it to lazy parasites); proportionality – reap what one sows

2. Fairness/Cheating Close

Liberty/Oppression

Sensitivity to threats of domination and coercion (e.g., fighting tyranny).

created to better understand a crucial difference between fairness & liberty intuitions; i.e., fairness in economic outcome a matter of equal opportunity (liberal) or proportionality (conservative) as in one gets what one earns
makes people notice and resent any sign of attempted domination
triggers an urge to band together to resist or overthrow bullies & tyrants

L: Supports egalitarianism & anti-authoritarianism

C: Supports libertarian “don’t tread on me” and “give me liberty” anti-government anger

3. Liberty/Oppression Close

Loyalty/Betrayal

Emphasizes group cohesion, patriotism, and standing with one's team (e.g., loving your country, hating traitors).

evolved as adaptive challenge of forming & maintaining coalitions…
sensitive to signs of another person being a team player
makes us trust & reward such people
makes us want to hurt, ostracize, or even kill those who betray us or our group

L: support universalist causes, rather than nationalistic; often hostile to foreign policy

C: patriotism, group survival and growth

4. Loyalty/Betrayal Close

Authority/Subversion

Respect for tradition, legitimate authority, and social order (e.g., respecting elders, leaders).

evolved as adaptive challenge of forging relationships that benefit us within social hierarchies…
sensitive to signs of rank, power, & status
makes us question or suspect people who are behaving improperly, given their position
more complex than other foundations because its modules look in two directions – up towards superiors and down towards subordinates

L: difficulty with this in part by its opposition to hierarchy, inequality, and power/control

C: like to cultivate the protection of superiors and allegiance of subordinates; protecting order and fending off chaos (anarchy); social advantage in holding people accountable for fulfilling obligations of their station

5. Authority/Subversion Close

Sanctity/Degradation

Focus on purity, disgust, and the sacred (e.g., religious purity, avoiding contamination).

evolved initially as adaptive challenge of omnivore’s dilemma (i.e., being both xenophilic and xenophobic [liking/fearing people from other places]); and then to the broader challenge of living in a world of pathogens and parasites
triggers behavioral immune system (triggers are pleasurable or disgusting)
invest objects with irrational & extreme values – both positive and negative – which are important for binding groups

L: one’s body is a playground; spiritual left (New Age thinking); environmental movement (abusing/destroying nature & Mother Earth)

C: one’s body is a temple; Religious Right’s sanctities of…marriage, human life

6. Sanctity/Degradation Close