Discordant benevolence: How and why people help others in the face of conflicting values.

ABSTRACT: What happens when a request for help from friends or family members invokes conflicting values? In answering this question, we integrate and extend two literatures: support provision within social networks and moral decision-making. We examine the willingness of Americans who deem abortion immoral to help a close friend or family member seeking one. Using data from the General Social Survey and 74 in-depth interviews from the National Abortion Attitudes Study, we find that a substantial minority of Americans morally opposed to abortion would enact what we call discordant benevolence: providing help when doing so conflicts with personal values. People negotiate discordant benevolence by discriminating among types of help and by exercising commiseration, exemption, or discretion. This endeav

SUBMITTER: Cowan SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8856616 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature