The Reciprocal Relationship Between Perceptions of Moral Goodness and Knowledge of Others’ True Selves

The idea of true selves is widespread in folk psychology. Most research on this topic has focused on the precursors to and consequences of feeling that one knows or is expressing one’s own true self. As such, little is known about the conditions under which people feel like they know the true selves...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social psychological & personality science 2017-11, Vol.8 (8), p.910-917
Main Authors: Christy, Andrew G., Kim, Jinhyung, Vess, Matthew, Schlegel, Rebecca J., Hicks, Joshua A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Morality
Precursors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The idea of true selves is widespread in folk psychology. Most research on this topic has focused on the precursors to and consequences of feeling that one knows or is expressing one’s own true self. As such, little is known about the conditions under which people feel like they know the true selves of others. In five studies (total N = 815), we tested and found support for the hypothesis that moral information is inherently tied to perceived knowledge of others’ true selves. Across all studies, using both descriptive texts (Studies 1–3) and computer-generated faces as stimuli (Studies 4 and 5), participants felt that they knew more about the true selves of highly moral targets relative to other targets and, conversely, believed the targets possessed more moral traits when they felt that they knew the individual’s true self.
ISSN:1948-5506
1948-5514
DOI:10.1177/1948550617693061