The nature of harm—and therefore moral judgment—may be misunderstood. Rather than an objective matter of reason, we argue that harm should be redefined as an intuitively perceived continuum. This redefinition provides a new understanding of moral content and mechanism—the constructionist Theory of Dyadic Morality (TDM). TDM suggests that acts are condemned proportional to three elements: norm violations, negative affect, and—importantly—perceived harm. This harm is dyadic, involving an intentional agent causing damage to a vulnerable patient (A→P). TDM predicts causal links both from harm to immorality (dyadic comparison) and from immorality to harm (dyadic completion). Together, these two processes make the “dyadic loop,” explaining moral acquisition and polarization. TDM argues against intuitive harmless wrongs and modular “foundations,” but embraces moral pluralism through varieties of values and the flexibility of perceived harm. Dyadic morality impacts understandings of moral character, moral emotion, and political/cultural differences, and provides research guidelines for moral psychology.

伤害的性质以及因此的道德判断可能会被误解。我们认为，危害应该被重新定义为一个直观的连续体，而不是客观的理性问题。这项重新定义提供了对道德内容和机制的新理解-建构主义的和弦道德理论（TDM）。TDM建议对行为的谴责与三个要素成正比：违反规范，负面影响以及（最重要的）可感知的伤害。这种伤害是二元性的，涉及故意造成对易受伤害的患者造成伤害的药剂（A→P）。TDM预测了从伤害到不道德（因果比较）和从不道德到伤害（因果完成）之间的因果关系。这两个过程共同构成了“二元循环”，解释了道德习得和两极分化。TDM反对直觉无害的错误和模块化的“基础”，”，但通过各种价值观念和感知伤害的灵活性拥抱道德多元化。二元道德影响对道德品格，道德情感和政治/文化差异的理解，并为道德心理学提供研究指导。