Why do we judge powerful figures more harshly when they don't share our beliefs? This research explores how perceived power amplifies moral evaluations based on ideological similarity. The study demonstrates that people rate powerful individuals with dissimilar ideologies as less moral compared to those with similar ideologies, a difference that's less pronounced for less powerful targets. The study's methodology involved several experiments where participants evaluated the morality of various targets, including politicians and groups, based on their perceived power and ideological alignment. The results consistently showed that the morality ratings of powerful individuals were significantly more polarized along ideological lines. These findings suggest that our expectations of help or harm from powerful individuals based on ideological alignment strongly influence our moral judgments. This polarization effect has implications for understanding social dynamics and the perception of leaders in various contexts.
As a publication of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, this paper fits squarely within the journal's scope, addressing fundamental aspects of social perception and interpersonal judgment. The focus on how power dynamics influence moral evaluations aligns with the journal's interest in understanding the psychological processes underlying social behavior.