Study finds seasonal changes in moral values

A new UBC study has found regular seasonal changes in people’s moral values.

This finding has potential implications for politics, law and health, including the timing of elections and court cases, as well as the public’s response to a health crisis.

The research published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences One study analyzed survey responses from more than 230,000 people in the United States over a 10-year period and found that people’s adherence to certain moral values ​​fluctuates depending on the time of year. Seasonal trends were also observed in smaller data samples from Canada and Australia.

“People’s adherence to moral values ​​that promote group cohesion and conformity is stronger in the spring and fall than in the summer and winter,” said Ian Hohm, first author of the study and a doctoral student in UBC’s department of psychology.

“Moral values ​​play a fundamental role in how people make decisions and form judgments, so we think this finding may be just the tip of the iceberg, as it has implications for all sorts of other downstream effects.”

Since 2009, a website created by social psychology researchers has been collecting survey data that measures participants’ adherence to five moral values:

1. Loyalty: Value dedication to one’s group and maintain strong group bonds.
2. Authority: Respect and follow leadership and established rules.
3. Purity: Emphasis on cleanliness, holiness and respect for tradition.
4. Care: Prioritize kindness and prevent harm to others.
5. Equity: ensuring equal treatment for all.

Scholars call loyalty, authority, and purity “compelling” values ​​because they encourage conformity to group norms. They also fit into modern political conservatism. Caring and fairness can be considered more liberal values, focusing on individual rights and well-being. Studies have shown that all of these values ​​guide people’s judgments about right and wrong.

The researchers found that respondents endorsed “constraining” values ​​more in the spring and fall, but not as much in the summer and winter, a trend that was remarkably consistent over 10 years.

They also found that the summer decline in adherence to binding moral values ​​was more pronounced in areas where seasonal climate differences are more extreme.

Anxiety, a possible explanation

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

“We noticed that anxiety levels peak in the spring and fall, which coincides with the times when people are most strongly committed to constraining values,” said Dr. Mark Schaller, lead author of the study and a professor of psychology at UBC. “This correlation suggests that higher anxiety may lead people to seek comfort in group norms and traditions supported by constraining values.”

Consequences for politics, law, health and social relations

These findings have far-reaching implications, with potential examples including:

• Elections: The timing of elections could impact outcomes, as changing moral values ​​influence political opinions and behaviors.
• Judicial judgments: The timing of trials and judicial decisions could be influenced by seasonal variations in moral values, as those who adhere to “compelling” values ​​tend to be more punitive towards those who commit crimes and violate social norms.
• Disease response: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the extent to which people followed social distancing guidelines and got vaccinated was influenced by their moral values. Knowing these changing values ​​across seasons could help design more effective health campaigns.
• Intergroup prejudice: Seasonal changes in moral values ​​can affect how people perceive outsiders or those who do not conform to group norms.

The research team plans to further explore the links between anxiety and moral values ​​and study how these seasonal patterns influence legal biases and judgments.