Moral Psychology

New research published in Journal of Personality & Social Psychology shows that people’s anticipated emotional responses to situations significantly shape their moral praise and character judgments of others.

A new study reveals that facial attractiveness and positive personality traits independently reduce negative emotional responses to unfair offers in economic decision-making, highlighting that beauty and charm can bias fairness judgments.

Can a perpetrator’s charm or choice of tactic alter how the public perceives their guilt? New research explores how personality and behavior influence judgments in sexual assault cases.

A new neuroimaging study has found that people with alcohol use disorder show reduced brain activity when alcohol-related distractions are present.

A study published in Marketing Letters found that self-perceived attractiveness can promote prosocial behavior through increased public self-consciousness and impression management, but only when these actions are visible to others.

A study found consensus on traits like empathy, moral identity, and attentiveness defining morally exceptional individuals, though perceptions varied by political beliefs, with conservatives emphasizing authority and religiosity, and liberals prioritizing empathy, fairness, and harm reduction.

According to a new study, people who have taken the Giving What We Can (GWWC) pledge to donate at least 10% of their income to charity display distinct cognitive and personality traits.

Researchers found that perceptions of moral character are highly subjective, with significant differences between self-perceptions and others' views, largely influenced by individual biases.

New research shows that dispositional self-efficacy increases the likelihood of intervening in everyday moral violations, while moral disengagement decreases it. Emotions like anger motivate intervention, whereas fear inhibits it, highlighting key factors in moral courage.

New research has found that individuals with traits like narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism often believe they are morally superior to others, despite engaging in immoral behavior.

Psychopathic individuals with high impulsivity tend to make harm-averse, deontological choices in high-emotion scenarios, according to a new study.

Training in compassion through Compassion Focused Therapy significantly expanded participants' moral circles, increasing concern for a wider range of beings, including family, strangers, animals, and the environment, with effects growing stronger over a three-month period.

Older adults judge harmful intentions more harshly and accidental harm more leniently than younger adults, highlighting age-related differences in moral sensitivity and emotional reactions to sociomoral violations.

Research suggests that people may expect to behave more unethically when they perceive higher economic inequality, potentially decreasing societal trust and cooperation.

Moral shame, driven by democratic values, is a significant predictor of antiwar actions in Russia, whereas guilt and image shame are less influential, according to new psychology research.