New findings challenge the core assumptions of Moral Foundations Theory (MFT). First, Individual-Level Variability shows substantial changes in moral foundations over time. Second, Political Change Disconnect, longitudinal studies find little evidence these changes predict shifts in political orientations. Third, Heritability Question, twin study data suggests minimal heritability for moral foundations. These results raise fundamental questions about MFT's explanatory power for political ideology.
| Intuitive Ethics and Political Orientations: Testing Moral Foundations as a Theory of Political Ideology was authored by Peter Hatemi, Kevin Smith, John Alford, John Hibbing and Nicholas Martin. It was published by Wiley in AJPS in 2017. |
