The Social Psychology of Morality
Published on 31. October 2025
Book
Hardback
180 pages
978-1-0353-6473-2 (ISBN)
Description
This incisive book defines and unpacks the concept of morality. Neil J. MacKinnon summarizes, compares and evaluates theories of morality from both psychological and sociological perspectives, which as separate disciplines are unable to capture the breadth and complexity of this topic.
The Social Psychology of Morality addresses key issues in the study of morality, including scientific research versus moral philosophy, the psychology of moral judgment, and the scope, locus and origin of morality. Chapters provide detailed insight into core principles including social intuitionist theory, dyadic morality theory, affect control theory and the social psychology of conscience. Informative and accessible, this book advocates for the field to recognise that morality exists at the social, interactional and individual levels of reality, as both subjectively internalized phenomena and objectively manifested behavior.
Approaching the concept of morality from a broad range of disciplinary perspectives, this book is an invaluable resource for students and academics specialising in the social psychology of morality, the sociology of morality and moral psychology. Its comprehensive literature review is also of benefit to those studying sociology and social policy and sociological theory.
The Social Psychology of Morality addresses key issues in the study of morality, including scientific research versus moral philosophy, the psychology of moral judgment, and the scope, locus and origin of morality. Chapters provide detailed insight into core principles including social intuitionist theory, dyadic morality theory, affect control theory and the social psychology of conscience. Informative and accessible, this book advocates for the field to recognise that morality exists at the social, interactional and individual levels of reality, as both subjectively internalized phenomena and objectively manifested behavior.
Approaching the concept of morality from a broad range of disciplinary perspectives, this book is an invaluable resource for students and academics specialising in the social psychology of morality, the sociology of morality and moral psychology. Its comprehensive literature review is also of benefit to those studying sociology and social policy and sociological theory.
Reviews / Votes
'Neil Mackinnon is a master at broad scholarship and integrative thinking. In this book, he has reviewed the literature on morality from early philosophy and social science, through the state of the art science of many disciplines. He connects the modern threads of thought to classic social science traditions. He helps us see the connections and the way forward.' -- Lynn Smith-Lovin, Duke University, USA 'MacKinnon provides an exceptionally insightful analysis of a wide range of social psychological theories related to morality, with theory comparisons centering on important and timely debates, including the psychology of moral judgment. The book is bound to become essential reading for all scholars interested in morality and/or social psychology.' -- Amy Kroska, University of California, Riverside, USA 'Issues of morality are ever-present in society, with renewed resonance in current political and cultural debates. This work spans sociology, psychology and social theory to provide a comprehensive outline of the core ideas about the nature of human morality. Neil MacKinnon applies his typical precision to explicating the ideas of a wide range of thinkers and introducing their relevance to his long-standing research program, Affect Control Theory. The book effectively synthesizes a tremendous amount of scholarship, and will be noted as a major signpost as this field continues to expand.' -- Steven Hitlin, University of Iowa, USAMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-6473-2 (9781035364732)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Neil J. MacKinnon, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Social & Applied Human Sciences, University of Guelph, Canada
Content
Contents
Preface
1 Morality: definitions and issues
2 The scientific study of morality versus moral philosophy
3 The locus and origin of morality
4 Institutional versus constitutive social order and morality
5 Social psychological voices from the past
6 Social intuitionist theory
7 The theory of dyadic morality
8 The social psychology of conscience
9 Affect control theory
10 Summary, integration, and fundamental issues
References
Preface
1 Morality: definitions and issues
2 The scientific study of morality versus moral philosophy
3 The locus and origin of morality
4 Institutional versus constitutive social order and morality
5 Social psychological voices from the past
6 Social intuitionist theory
7 The theory of dyadic morality
8 The social psychology of conscience
9 Affect control theory
10 Summary, integration, and fundamental issues
References