Group Opinion Polarization in Conditions of Moral Choice Uncertainty

There are a huge number of phenomena about which people might have stable opposing opinions. In social psychology, this is called group polarization. The most difficult here are the problems of moral choice, which do not have unambiguous solutions and often divide people in a group into two irreconcilable camps. Numerous studies in this direction are being conducted on the basis of the so-called “Kant-Constant paradox”. The presented experiment, according to the authors, confirms the hypothesis that in the process of making a decision in a group discussion, the subjects undergo a restructuring of value judgments not only at the level of consciousness, but also at the unconscious level. The results of the study were explained on the basis of V.M. Allakhverdov’s theory of consciousness, according to which rational judgments and decisions can be carried out not only consciously, but also unconsciously. The study was conducted in the form of an online discussion in 4 experimental groups. In total of 106 people took part in it. A list of specially selected Russian folk proverbs was used as a test material. It was found that after a discussion that requires a public statement of the respondent about his moral choice, there may be a significant shift in the assessments of his attitude to proverbs, both related to the task being performed and not directly related to it, which the participant of the experiment may not realize.

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