With roots in sociology and social psychology going back to Emile Durkeim, scholars in the 1990s and 2000s coined the term “moral foundations theory,” which proposes that several innate and universally available psychological systems are the foundations of “intuitive ethics.” Each culture then constructs virtues, narratives and institutions on top of these foundations, thereby creating the unique moralities we see around the world, and conflicting within nations too. The six foundations for which they think there currently is evidence are: 1) care/harm; 2) fairness/cheating; 3) loyalty/betrayal; 4) authority/subversion; 5) sanctity/degradation; 6) liberty/oppression.
This finding is important for framing arguments, as Feinberg and Willer (2015) tested, claiming that frames that target a person’s morality are more likely to have success in changing minds.
Citation: Feinberg, M., & Willer, R. (2015). From Gulf to Bridge: When Do Moral Arguments Facilitate Political Influence? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 41(12), 1665-1681. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167215607842