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Word embeddings reveal growing moral concern for people, animals, and the environment

Leach, Stefan, Kitchin, Andrew, Sutton, Robbie M. (2023) Word embeddings reveal growing moral concern for people, animals, and the environment. British Journal of Social Psychology, 62 (4). pp. 1925-1938. ISSN 0144-6665. E-ISSN 2044-8309. (doi:10.1111/bjso.12663) (KAR id:101729)

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Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12663

Abstract

The Enlightenment idea of historical moral progress asserts that civil societies become more moral over time. This is often understood as an expanding moral circle and is argued to be tightly linked with language use, with some suggesting that shifts in how we express concern for others can be considered an important indicator of moral progress. Our research explores these notions by examining historical trends in natural language use during the 19th and 20th centuries. We found that the associations between words denoting moral concern and words referring to people, animals, and the environment grew stronger over time. The findings support widely-held views about the nature of moral progress by showing that language has changed in a way that reflects greater concern for others.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/bjso.12663
Additional information: For the purpose of open access, the author(s) has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising.
Uncontrolled keywords: moral progress, moral expansiveness, moral circle, natural language processing, word embeddings
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Funders: Leverhulme Trust (https://ror.org/012mzw131)
Depositing User: Robbie Sutton
Date Deposited: 17 Jun 2023 11:13 UTC
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2024 13:07 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/101729 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Leach, Stefan.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4065-3519
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Kitchin, Andrew.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Sutton, Robbie M..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1542-1716
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
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