Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight Stigma
Weight stigma significantly affects the quality of life for individuals with obesity in Western societies. While previous research has used moral foundations theory to predict attitudes toward stigmatized groups, such as the poor, immigrants, and sexual minorities, its application to weight-related...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2025-07-01
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| Series: | International Review of Social Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://account.rips-irsp.com/index.php/up-j-irsp/article/view/1068 |
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| author | Cristian Catena-Fernández Alejandro Magallares |
| author_facet | Cristian Catena-Fernández Alejandro Magallares |
| author_sort | Cristian Catena-Fernández |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Weight stigma significantly affects the quality of life for individuals with obesity in Western societies. While previous research has used moral foundations theory to predict attitudes toward stigmatized groups, such as the poor, immigrants, and sexual minorities, its application to weight-related stigma remains underexplored. This research explores the relationship between moral foundations, the moralization of obesity, and weight stigma in an underrepresented European context. In a pre-registered correlational study (Study 1), we found that binding and individualizing foundations differentially predicted the moralization of obesity and weight stigma. A follow-up pre-registered experiment (Study 2) suggested that highlighting the societal benefits of purity, a binding moral foundation, over care, an individualizing moral foundation, may increase the moralization of obesity and heighten weight stigma. These findings contribute to deepening understanding of the moral roots of weight stigma and underscore the importance of considering moral values in efforts to mitigate it. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-afccd84362884ad8a62a9126df02e6b7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2397-8570 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Review of Social Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-afccd84362884ad8a62a9126df02e6b72025-08-21T12:36:54ZengUbiquity PressInternational Review of Social Psychology2397-85702025-07-01381111110.5334/irsp.10681068Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight StigmaCristian Catena-Fernández0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4472-5391Alejandro Magallares1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0633-9809Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)Weight stigma significantly affects the quality of life for individuals with obesity in Western societies. While previous research has used moral foundations theory to predict attitudes toward stigmatized groups, such as the poor, immigrants, and sexual minorities, its application to weight-related stigma remains underexplored. This research explores the relationship between moral foundations, the moralization of obesity, and weight stigma in an underrepresented European context. In a pre-registered correlational study (Study 1), we found that binding and individualizing foundations differentially predicted the moralization of obesity and weight stigma. A follow-up pre-registered experiment (Study 2) suggested that highlighting the societal benefits of purity, a binding moral foundation, over care, an individualizing moral foundation, may increase the moralization of obesity and heighten weight stigma. These findings contribute to deepening understanding of the moral roots of weight stigma and underscore the importance of considering moral values in efforts to mitigate it.https://account.rips-irsp.com/index.php/up-j-irsp/article/view/1068moral foundationsobesityanti-fatweight stigma |
| spellingShingle | Cristian Catena-Fernández Alejandro Magallares Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight Stigma International Review of Social Psychology moral foundations obesity anti-fat weight stigma |
| title | Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight Stigma |
| title_full | Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight Stigma |
| title_fullStr | Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight Stigma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight Stigma |
| title_short | Moral Foundations and Obesity: The Role of Binding vs. Individualizing Foundations in Shaping Weight Stigma |
| title_sort | moral foundations and obesity the role of binding vs individualizing foundations in shaping weight stigma |
| topic | moral foundations obesity anti-fat weight stigma |
| url | https://account.rips-irsp.com/index.php/up-j-irsp/article/view/1068 |
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