Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Vallacher, Robin

Abstract

The nature and existence of free will and its relationship with moral reasoning and behavior have been debated by philosophers, theologians, and scientists for centuries, with no resolution in sight. More recently, proponents of “Experimental Philosophy” (Nichols, 2011) have sought to bypass the challenges of ontology by applying the tools and methods of the behavioral and mental sciences to the study of issues such as the structure and role of free will beliefs (FWBs) in prosocial and moral reasoning and behavior. One of these approaches involves the use of experimental manipulation of FWBs via text passages, statements, articles, and videos endorsing or refuting free will, to measure its effects on moral attitudes and behaviors such as conformity, punishment, and cheating behaviors (e.g. Alquist et al., 2013; Shariff et al., 2014; Vohs & Schooler, 2008). The present study, a videoconference-based online study developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeks to shed further insight into the role of FWBs in moral behavior by combining experimental manipulations of FWBs and descriptive moral norms (moral behaviors we observe in the world around us). We manipulated FWBs by randomly assigning participants to read and contemplate 15 pro- or anti-free will statements, and manipulated moral norms by pairing participants with a research confederate pretending to be a second participant but randomly assigned to behave either honestly or dishonestly in a tracing task involving unsolvable shapes, which participants were led to believe they could earn a prize for solving.

Extent

79 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2022.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00014055

Format

pdf

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