Christian Beltran

I study the role of morality and political ideology on attitudes and behaviors in various intergroup conflicts. I’m interested in questions such as:

• When do individuals consider the relevancy of previous events (i.e., the past) when morally evaluating events in the present?
• How does the moralization of political issues inhibit open-mindedness and exacerbate division between Democrats and Republicans, and how can we reverse this process?
• What are the consequences of seeing others we disagree with as “immoral” versus “unintelligent” or “of differing opinions” and how does this contribute to our inferences of others (e.g., motives, intentions, character, etc.)?
• How can we effectively promote civility, discourse, and intellectual humility in politics while avoiding backfire effects?