Moral Conformity and Individual Traits

This study presents research dedicated to the cross-design reproduction of the moral conformity effect identified in intergroup experiments, utilizing an intragroup approach. The aim of the research was to test the robustness of the moral conformity effect to changes in experimental design and to analyze its relationship with individual traits. The studied features included the Big Five personality factors, traits of the Dark Triad, ethical dispositions, and social desirability. The sample consisted of 252 participants (M = 19.85, SD = 4.15), including 128 women and 124 men. The statistical analysis was conducted using Bayesian statistical methods. The results indicated that moral conformity responses occur both under consequentialist and deontological passive social pressure, with no differences in the levels of moral conformity between these two types of pressure. It was also found that there are no significant differences in the strength of conformity reactions between men and women. Correlational analysis showed that individual traits assessed using various questionnaires are not related to moral conformity. The weak relationships between the strength of conforming reactions and individual characteristics, as well as the absence of gender differences, suggest the universality of the mechanism of moral conformity. Cluster analysis revealed four groups with different responses to passive social pressure in moral dilemma tasks. The percentage of participants who exhibited pronounced conformity in at least one direction of pressure was 34%. Thus, the results demonstrate that the moral conformity effect is reproducible across different experimental designs and is not related to individual traits.