Public discourse is often caustic and conflict-filled. This trend seems to be particularly evident when the content of such discourse is around moral issues (broadly defined) and when the discourse occurs on social media. Several explanatory mechanisms for such conflict have been explored in recent psychological and social-science literatures. The present work sought to examine a potentially novel explanatory mechanism defined in philosophical literature: Moral Grandstanding. According to philosophical accounts, Moral Grandstanding is the use of moral talk to seek social status. For the present work, we conducted six studies, using two undergraduate samples (Study 1, N = 361; Study 2, N = 356); a sample matched to U.S. norms for age, gender, race, income, Census region (Study 3, N = 1,063); a YouGov sample matched to U.S. demographic norms (Study 4, N = 2,000); and a brief, one-month longitudinal study of Mechanical Turk workers in the U.S. (Study 5, Baseline N = 499, follow-up n = 296), and a large, one-week YouGov sample matched to U.S. demographic norms (Baseline N = 2,519, follow-up n = 1,776). Across studies, we found initial support for the validity of Moral Grandstanding as a construct. Specifically, moral grandstanding motivation was associated with status-seeking personality traits, as well as greater political and moral conflict in daily life.

Funding: JG, BW, and JT received specific funding from the Charles Koch Foundation to support all studies in this work (No Grant Number available) ( https://www.charleskochfoundation.org ). This work was also supported by funding from Bowling Green State University. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Introduction

Public discourse is often fraught with controversy, particularly when the focus of such discourse is related to issues of morality or political belief [1]. Value-based discussions are prone to conflict, as individuals engaged in such conversations are often passionately invested in their beliefs and positions [2–5]. A body of research has noted that, particularly in the context of social media environments and electronic communication methods, public discussion of controversial topics has become even more volatile over recent years [6–9]. A number of reasons for such conflicts have been suggested in recent literatures, many of which have shown great promise in describing or predicting caustic forms of dialogue. Yet, even with such advances, there are still many aspects of public discourse that are poorly understood or relatively unstudied in contemporary psychological literature. To address this need, the purpose of the present work is to examine one factor that might be particularly relevant to ongoing studies of social conflict in public discourse about morally charged topics: moral grandstanding [10]. Adapted from philosophical literature [i.e., 10], moral grandstanding refers to the use of moral talk to seek social status. Heretofore unexamined by behavioral science, the present work seeks to examine if moral grandstanding might be relevant for understanding at least some part of current conflicts in public discourse.

Moral discourse and social media In recent years, a number of studies have documented the socially caustic nature of public discourse, particularly on social media [11]. Social media users are known to increasingly self-select into homogenous social groups [12–15], which may flow from a more innate tendency in humans to be inwardly focused and in-group biased [16]. Building on this tendency toward self-segregation, other work has demonstrated that social media has exacerbated natural human tendencies toward in-group/out-group biases [17,18]. Ultimately, this seems to have contributed to “echo chamber” environments, where ideological positions are continuously reinforced, with little exposure to other ideas [12,18,19]. Moreover, it seems that, when people are actually exposed to opposing viewpoint, this exposure often actually increases polarization [20]. Affective and ideological polarization are well-documented [20,21], and perceived polarization (i.e., the belief that opposite sides in an argument are extremely far apart) seems to outpace actual polarization [22–24]. In documenting these trends, many have noted that social media itself seems to be a driving factor in the experience of polarization and conflict-ridden dialogue [21]. That is, the always-on nature of social media provides opportunities for social conflict in a quantity and consistency that did not exist before the internet [25], and may be responsible for documented trends in polarization and discord. Despite the above findings, however, it is not accurate to conclude that there is universal consensus regarding the role of social media in driving dysfunctions in public-discourse. Specifically, some work has suggested that polarization is occurring more rapidly among those who use the internet less [26]. Such a finding suggests that polarization may be attributable to multiple factors, rather than solely to social media or digital online environments themselves. However, there is little disagreement with the notion that public discourse on social media platforms is particularly prone to conflict and outrage [27,28]. That is, moral outrage in the digital age is common and often especially intense [1]. Moreover, the prevalence of such outrage is particularly concerning given research showing that outrage occurring on social media is often quickly realized but imprecisely pointed at diverse potential targets [1,7]. Collectively, empirical research suggests that online environments—particularly social media—are often full of caustic examples of public discourse. Several mechanisms may be at play, including natural tendencies toward homogeneity, ingroup/outgroup biases, and a culture that encourages outrage. However, another possible factor that has been heretofore understudied as a potential driving mechanism in polarization and outrage in social discourse is the inherent human drive to seek status or rank. That is, public discourse, particularly on social media, is often directly or indirectly concerned with increasing one’s influence, rank, or social standing [29–31], which may be relevant to understanding why such discourse is often caustic and conflict prone.

Status-seeking Humans are inherently social animals with well-documented tendencies to seek affiliation, social bonding, and community identity [32]. However, humans are also driven to seek status within their communities and spheres of belonging [33–35]. In the context of human evolution, high social status was most likely advantageous in mate selection and resource competition, which likely accounts for why human beings crave influence and social power [36–38]. Building on this innate tendency, there is now considerable evidence that humans seem to be predisposed toward two primary avenues of seeking status: dominance and prestige [33]. Dominance refers to the tendency to seek social status and influence (and the associated resources and advantages associated with such influence) by means of dominating, controlling, or subduing opponents [39]. Although dominance can certainly be achieved through physical means (i.e., violence), humans are particularly adept at using social cues, verbal behavior, non-verbal behavior, and interpersonal dynamics to achieve dominance without physical coercion [40–42]. For example, a person may use verbal threats or attempt to shame or embarrass an ideological opponent or rival, as a means of seeking social status via dominance. Like dominance, prestige is similarly concerned with status and influence seeking, but seeks to do so through less caustic means. That is, prestige specifically refers to attempts to seek status or influence via gaining the respect and admiration of others [33,43]. Whereas dominance involves coercing others into submission, prestige is often more inspirational in nature. Prestige may be characterized by a desire to be recognized for skills, “know-how,” or general abilities. In social settings, both dominance and prestige are viable options for upward social mobility [33,43]. Although dominance often comes at some social cost (e.g., likability, perceived agreeableness), it is often useful in attaining status and rank. Prestige is similarly effective for achieving such goals, often with the added benefit of enhancing likability and perceived agreeableness [34]. Even so, social status-seeking often entails conflict and competition, especially when multiple forces are seeking rank or status or when resources are scarce. Although dominance is a clear pathway to such conflict [44], prestige is not exempt from this consequence [39]. Although relatively unexamined in analyses of public discourse, it is likely that status-seeking motives are a consistent aspect of such discourse as well. As previously referenced, social media engagement and activity is often characterized by status-seeking motives [29–31]. Building on these premises, the present work seeks to examine if status-seeking motivations may be of relevance in understanding problems in public discourse in the modern era. To our knowledge, no prior work has specifically postulated that status-seeking via dominance and prestige may be a relevant mechanism in understanding political and moral polarization in public discourse.