书稿早就交付，可是却迟迟未动笔写序，说不清楚是什么样的心境促成的，直至今日，再次尝试提笔时却感觉下笔有些沉重。我知道，这个沉重并非因为心理学与伦理学跨界的艰难。在从心理学跨界伦理学后，我一直在寻找一个自己喜欢，又适合自身学术特长的领域做研究。回顾多年来的探索，有意无意间和社会心态结下了不解之缘。从最早的专著《社会心理学原理与方法》到《社会心理与控制》《道德心理研究》，再到本书，探索着一条从理论到实证发展的路径，探索建设与和谐社会要求相适应的社会心态的伦理—心理理论构架与互动模式。这种跨界的痛苦在撰写《道德心理研究》时已经从挣扎趋向升华。这种沉重决非调查研究中样本收集与数据处理之艰难引起的。本书历时多年，有多个调查研究交叉着同时进行，从最初的样本分布、群体分层、入户调查乃至夏日炎炎到建筑工地上的采样与访谈情景都历历在目，如今已经是快乐的回忆了。沉重的感受也不是因为社会心态的测量与研究之艰难引起的。社会心态的复杂性在于它是社会精神系统的一部分内容，是隐藏在人们心灵深处的。同时也表现在社会心态的两层含义上：第一，社会心态是一个动态的过程，因受到社会环境的影响而不断发展变化着，包括各种心理过程和行为；第二，针对某一特定时期来看，社会心态又是一种比较稳定的状态，在政治、经济和文化相对稳定的时期，社会心态会出现小的变化，但总体上是比较稳定的。社会心态内涵本身的丰富性和复杂性都会对社会心态的分析和测量带来很大困难。但这恰恰也是我探索的意义所在。当初我选择了对社会心态与道德生活状况这两个主题进行综合研究。之所以选择社会心态，是因为在每一个变动的社会中，社会心态都是必须注重的研究领域。一方面，社会心态是社会变迁研究的一个重要组成部分，已成为社会变迁的一个表达和展示；另一方面，对社会心态的把握和调适，也是社会变革的一个社会心理条件。无论作为宏观决策和管理部门，还是作为对中国现实社会变迁及社会问题进行研究的机构，都会特别关注这一研究的进展。在社会主义市场经济转型过程中，社会心态会随着社会的变化而变化，了解社会心态不仅对于了解社情民意、社会热点以及公众情绪非常重要，而且是进一步采取有效措施，实现“塑造自尊自信、理性平和、积极向上的社会心态”的前提。选择道德生活状况是为道德建设做准备的。我觉得个体、群体乃至社会的道德是社会和谐的重要的人文精神基础，也是构建和谐社会的精神动力。从伦理学意义上说，和谐社会乃是社会的多元利益主体通过道德的认同和行为选择的协调而形成的一种有利于满足人的需要、促进人的发展的社会良好的道德关系和精神氛围。构建和谐社会不仅是政治和法律的事情，而且也是道德伦理的事情，因为只有通过道德伦理的方式而不是政治法律的方式才能真正深入人们的心理与精神世界。道德生活状况可以塑造、影响、调控社会心态。社会心态是社会精神系统的一部分，属于自发的、无形的、隐性的、无序的、零乱的社会意识，隐藏在人们的心灵深处，只有通过价值取向、思维方式、行为模式等显现出来。因此道德建设可以通过理想信念、价值规范、行为习俗等方面的作用，引导塑造良好的社会心态。研究社会心态可为道德建设开辟新的途径，社会心态的状态是衡量道德建设的一个重要尺度，优化社会心态是道德建设的重要内容。两者均可促进和谐社会建设的影响和作用。在回想并重新翻阅研究报告时，我有些感悟到那份沉重是从哪里来的：是数据背后传递出的社会现实信息，是各大群体对社会心态与道德生活现状的评价相对消极的实情，是屡屡爆发的群体性事件背后的隐患。从最初看到数据结果时的惊讶、疑惑，到现在的沉思，反省自己未来还可以再做些什么。本书是多年实证调查研究的汇总，都是第一手资料。应该说，绝大部分数据都没有公开发表过，我觉得无论是单独发表哪一种数据都不够全面，不足以让人了解全貌，因而现在才得以以完整的形态呈现在您的面前。诚如我在《中国社会科学报》专访中所言，传统的数据分析样本较小，在一定程度上限制了发展，这也是本书的局限。未来的大数据样本将为社会心态与道德生活研究的变革带来崭新机遇。希望本书的出版可以抛砖引玉，吸引更多的学人从跨界的角度探索这个主题。我们可尝试从伦理学、心理学、社会学等多学科角度进行交叉研究。对社会心态进行精神哲学的考察，采用心理学的量化研究方式，社会学的田野调查模式。我们可以建立中国人自己的实验小镇、现场实验，建构我们自己的理论模型或者是释义系统，这在短期之内未必会实现，在路途中摸索，举步维艰总好过举步不前。这也将是我前行的动力。马向真2015年9月20日于牧心斋

The manuscript had been delivered a long time ago, but I didn't start writing the preface, and I couldn't tell what kind of mood contributed to it, and to this day, when I tried to pick up the pen again, I felt that the pen was a little heavy. I know that this heaviness is not due to the difficulty of crossing the border between psychology and ethics. After crossing the discipline from psychology to ethics, I have been looking for a field that I like and that suits my academic expertise. Looking back on years of exploration, intentionally or unintentionally formed an indissoluble bond with social mentality. From the earliest monograph "Principles and Methods of Social Psychology" to "Social Psychology and Control" and "Moral Psychology Research", and then to this book, it explores a path from theory to empirical development, and explores the ethical-psychological theoretical framework and interaction mode of building a social mentality that is compatible with the requirements of a harmonious society. This cross-border suffering has moved from struggle to sublimation by the time of writing Studies in the Moral Psychology. This heaviness is not caused by the difficulty of sample collection and data processing in the investigation and research. This book has been written over the years, with multiple studies intersecting at the same time, from the initial sample distribution, population stratification, household surveys, and even summer heat to sampling and interviews on construction sites, and now it is a happy memory. Nor is the heavy feeling caused by the difficulty of measuring and studying the social mentality. The complexity of the social mentality is that it is part of the social spiritual system, hidden in the depths of people's hearts. At the same time, it is also manifested in two meanings of social mentality: first, social mentality is a dynamic process, which is constantly developing and changing due to the influence of the social environment, including various psychological processes and behaviors; Second, for a specific period, the social mentality is a relatively stable state, and in the period of relative political, economic and cultural stability, the social mentality will change slightly, but it is relatively stable on the whole. The richness and complexity of the connotation of social mentality itself will bring great difficulties to the analysis and measurement of social mentality. But that's exactly what I'm exploring. At the beginning, I chose to conduct a comprehensive study of the two themes of social mentality and moral life conditions. The reason why I chose social mentality is because in every changing society, social mentality is a field of study that must be paid attention to. On the one hand, social mentality is an important part of social change research and has become an expression and display of social change; On the other hand, the grasp and adjustment of social mentality is also a social psychological condition for social change. As a macro policymaking and management department, as well as as an institution conducting research on China's real social changes and social issues, special attention will be paid to the progress of this research. In the process of transformation of the socialist market economy, the social mentality will change with the changes in society, and understanding the social mentality is not only very important for understanding social conditions and public opinion, social hot spots and public sentiment, but also is a prerequisite for further effective measures to achieve "shaping a self-esteem, self-confidence, rationality, peace and positive social mentality". The choice of moral living conditions is preparation for moral construction. I believe that the morality of individuals, groups and even society is an important humanistic spiritual foundation for social harmony, and it is also the spiritual driving force for building a harmonious society. From the ethical point of view, a harmonious society is a good moral relationship and spiritual atmosphere in society formed by the plural stakeholders of society through moral recognition and coordination of behavior choices, which is conducive to meeting human needs and promoting human development. Building a harmonious society is not only a matter of politics and law, but also a matter of morality and ethics, because only through moral and ethical means rather than political and legal methods can we truly penetrate people's psychological and spiritual world. Moral life conditions can shape, influence and regulate social mentality. Social mentality is a part of the social spiritual system, belonging to spontaneous, invisible, hidden, disorderly, and fragmented social consciousness, hidden in the depths of people's hearts, and only manifested through value orientation, thinking mode, behavior mode, etc. Therefore, moral construction can guide the shaping of a good social mentality through the role of ideals and beliefs, value norms, behavior and customs. The study of social mentality can open up new ways of moral construction, the state of social mentality is an important measure of moral construction, and optimizing social mentality is an important content of moral construction. Both can contribute to the influence and role of harmonious social construction. When I recalled and re-read the research report, I had some feelings about where the heaviness came from: it was the social reality information conveyed behind the data, the fact that the major groups had a relatively negative evaluation of the social mentality and the current situation of moral life, and the hidden dangers behind the repeated outbreaks of mass incidents. From the surprise and wonder when you first saw the data results, to the meditation now, reflecting on what else you can do in the future. This book is a compilation of years of empirical research and research, all of which are first-hand information. It should be said that most of the data has not been published, and I feel that no matter which data is published alone, it is not comprehensive enough for people to understand the whole picture, so it can now be presented to you in a complete form. As I said in an interview with China Social Sciences Daily, the small sample size of traditional data analysis limits development to a certain extent, which is also the limitation of this book. Future big data samples will bring new opportunities for the transformation of social mentality and moral life research. It is hoped that the publication of this book can attract more scholars to explore this theme from a cross-border perspective. We can try to conduct cross-disciplinary research from the perspective of ethics, psychology, sociology, etc. The investigation of the social mentality is carried out in the spiritual philosophy, using the quantitative research method of psychology and the fieldwork mode of sociology. We can build Chinese our own experimental towns, field experiments, and build our own theoretical models or interpretation systems, which may not be realized in the short term, and it is better to explore and struggle on the road than to move forward. This will also be my motivation to move forward. Ma Xiangzhen in Muxinzhai on September 20, 2015（AI翻译）