Outrage Overload

A Connors Institute podcast

Outrage 63 – How Perceptions of Harm Drive Moral Outrage and Political Conflict – Sam Pratt

Aired Apr 30, 2025

In this episode, we’re taking a look at the paper Morality in Our Mind and Across Cultures and Politics. We explore the psychology underpinning morality and the stark divisions of political polarization, featuring Sam Pratt, a researcher from the University of North Carolina’s Deepest Beliefs Lab. Continuing the thread from our discussion with Kurt Gray in Episode 61, we examine the harm-based model of morality, specifically how our individual perceptions of harm and victimhood profoundly influence our expressions of outrage, our social interactions, and our deeply held political beliefs.

We explore fundamental questions about the true nature of morality and its pivotal role in human behavior, navigating the complex interplay between moral relativism and universalism—understanding why cultures diverge in their moral values yet converge in their underlying moral processing. We dissect how moral outrage stems from perceptions of harm and victimhood, shedding light on the intense disagreements surrounding contentious issues like abortion and corporate accountability.

Furthermore, we investigate the power of storytelling versus factual data in shifting perspectives and cultivating mutual respect, ultimately exploring how acknowledging our shared concern for harm can serve as a bridge across political divides.

If you’ve ever grappled with the question of why individuals can interpret the same event through radically different moral lenses, this episode offers valuable insights.

Sam Pratt is a lab manager at the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding at UNC Chapel Hill, where he studies the psychology of morality and strategies to bridge divides. He will begin his PhD in Psychology at UCLA in Fall 2025.