Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis

Jim A. C. Everett, Clara Colombatto, Edmond Awad, Paulo Boggio, Björn Bos, William J. Brady, Megha Chawla, Vladimir Chituc, Dongil Chung, Moritz Drupp, Srishti Goel, Brit Grosskopf, Frederik Hjorth, Alissa Ji, Caleb Kealoha, Judy S. Kim, Yangfei Lin, Yina Ma, Michel Maréchal, Federico Mancinelli, Christoph Mathys, Asmus L. Olsen, Graeme Pearce, Annayah M. B. Prosser, Niv Reggev, Nicholas Sabin, Julien Senn, Yeon Soon Shin, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Hallgeir Sjåstad, Madelijn Strick, Sunhae Sul, Lars Tummers, Monique Turner, Hongbo Yu, Yoonseo Zoh and Molly J. Crockett ()
Additional contact information
Jim A. C. Everett: University of Kent
Clara Colombatto: Yale University
Edmond Awad: University of Exeter
Paulo Boggio: Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Mackenzie Presbyterian University
Björn Bos: University of Hamburg
William J. Brady: Yale University
Megha Chawla: Yale University
Vladimir Chituc: Yale University
Dongil Chung: Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
Srishti Goel: Yale University
Frederik Hjorth: University of Copenhagen
Alissa Ji: Yale University
Caleb Kealoha: Yale University
Judy S. Kim: Yale University
Yangfei Lin: University of Exeter
Yina Ma: Beijing Normal University
Federico Mancinelli: Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA)
Christoph Mathys: Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA)
Asmus L. Olsen: University of Copenhagen
Annayah M. B. Prosser: University of Bath
Niv Reggev: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Nicholas Sabin: Faculty of Management and Economics, Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Yeon Soon Shin: Yale University
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong: Duke University
Hallgeir Sjåstad: Norwegian School of Economics
Madelijn Strick: Utrecht University
Sunhae Sul: Pusan National University
Lars Tummers: Utrecht University
Monique Turner: Michigan State University
Hongbo Yu: University of California Santa Barbara
Yoonseo Zoh: Yale University
Molly J. Crockett: Yale University

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021, vol. 5, issue 8, 1074-1088

Abstract: Abstract Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others (‘instrumental harm’) reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally (‘impartial beneficence’) may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioural (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioural measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis. Protocol Registration Statement The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 13 November 2020. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13247315.v1 .

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01156-y

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