Ethics in the Digital Age: A Comparison of the Effects of Moving Images and Photographs on Moral Judgment

This study used a controlled experiment to see if moving images can improve moral judgment the same way that still images have in previous research. It found that watching a video only once caused participants' reasoning about ethical issues to decline significantly compared with those who saw a still photograph. This adds to the mounting evidence that still images elevate the quality of reasons used to make ethical decisions.The media have the power to not only set the public's agenda but also to shape ethical decision making regarding how citizens solve problems in society. In order to help audiences think more ethically about issues in the news, using still photographs is better than showing video, especially when stories are ethically charged, and improved ethical thinking can help achieve a more just society.