Moralization by Analogy: A Novel Perspective on Moral Change

Moral feelings and beliefs are powerful drivers of behavior. While analogies are commonly invoked to induce moral sentiment, analogical reasoning has not been empirically tested as a mechanism for moralization. Across two studies (N=292, N=234), we investigated whether analogical reasoning facilitated moralization of neutral target actions by transferring moral significance from moralized source actions. Participants judged neutral target actions paired with either analogous immoral source actions or unrelated immoral actions (control). Target actions were judged as more immoral in the analogy condition compared to the control, but only when the source and target were considered comparable (i.e., mappable relations), and the source was judged as highly immoral. These factors interacted synergistically, consistent with analogical transfer: moral significance transferred to targets when relational mappings supported the inference. However, poorly-perceived analogies backfired, producing less moralization than controls. These findings provide novel evidence for analogical reasoning as a mechanism for moralization.