Investigating the role of group-based morality in extreme behavioral expressions of prejudice

Understanding motivations underlying acts of hatred is essential for developing strategies to prevent extreme behavioral expressions of prejudice (EBEPs) against marginalized groups. This work proposes that EBEPs may often be best understood as morally motivated behaviors grounded in people’s moral values and perceptions of moral violations. Across five U.S.-based studies integrating spatial modeling and experimental methods, the authors show that moral values oriented around group preservation (binding values) predict county-level prevalence of hate groups and are associated with the belief that EBEPs against marginalized groups are justified. Additional analyses suggest that the association between group-based moral values and EBEPs against outgroups can be partly explained by the belief that these groups have done something morally wrong.