The changing of the seasons affects us morally: What we value most in summer and spring

Research has shown that our attachment to moral values ​​changes with the season. This variability has a major impact on politics, legal decisions and public health, as changing moral values ​​can affect the way we think and behave.

Researchers have discovered that the sequence of seasons affects the way we relate to certain moral values. The study conducted by the University of British Columbia it has implications for politics, justice and the health system, he reports Neuroscience News.

The research was published in August in the journal Science Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) analyzed survey responses from more than 230,000 people in the United States over a period of more than ten years and showed that people’s attachment to certain moral values ​​varies according to the time of year.

Seasonal patterns were also evident in smaller data samples from Canada and Australia.

Since 2009, a website created by social psychology researchers has collected survey data measuring participants’ agreement on five moral values ​​defined as follows:

• Loyalty: values ​​group loyalty and maintains strong group ties.
• Authorities: Adherence to established leadership and rules.
• Purity: A value that emphasizes cleanliness, sanctity and maintaining tradition.
• Care: Prioritizing kindness and preventing harm to others.
• justice: Ensuring equal treatment for all.

Loyalty, authority, and purity are considered “binding” values ​​by researchers because they encourage compliance with group norms. It also closely aligns with contemporary political conservatism.

Care and fairness can be considered more liberal values ​​with an emphasis on individual rights and well-being.

Research has shown that all these values ​​guide people’s judgments about right and wrong.

The study’s authors noted that respondents supported the “must” values ​​more in the spring and fall and less in the summer and winter—a fairly consistent pattern over a decade. They also found evidence that the summer decline in the reinforcement of binding moral values ​​was more pronounced in areas with greater seasonal climate differences.

“Moral values ​​are a fundamental part of how people make decisions and make judgments, so we believe that this discovery may be just the tip of the iceberg, as the impact has all kinds of downstream effects,” said lead author Ian Hohm. . of the study and a PhD candidate in the UBC psychology department.

Anxiety, possible explanation

The study showed a possible link between these seasonal moral changes and anxiety levels, using large data on seasonal anxiety provided by Dr. Brian O’Shea, co-author of the paper and assistant professor in psychology at the University of Nottingham, UK.

“We found that anxiety levels peak in the spring and fall, which coincide with times when people hold more strongly to attachment values,” said Dr. Mark Schaller, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at UBC. “This correlation suggests that higher anxiety may lead people to seek comfort in group norms and traditions supported by attachment values.”

What are the implications for politics, justice, health and social relations

The findings have several important implications:

• elections: the timing of the elections could affect the results, as changes in moral values ​​affect political attitudes and behaviour.
• Legal decisions: a seasonal change in moral values ​​may affect the timing of trials and legal decisions, as those who support “binding” values ​​tend to be harsher on those who commit crimes and which violates social norms.
• Cheers: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the moral values ​​influenced how people followed social distancing guidelines and got vaccinated. Being aware that these values ​​may change with the succession of seasons helps to plan more effective health campaigns.
• Group bias: Seasonal changes in moral values ​​may affect how people view those outside their group or those who do not conform to group norms.

The research team intends to deepen the links between anxiety and moral values ​​and to analyze how these seasonal patterns affect prejudices and decisions.

TD