Personality processes of everyday moral courage

Introduction Moral courage manifests in acts intended to intervene to stop or redress witnessed moral norm violations, despite the risk of negative consequences for the intervener. We investigate moral courage in everyday life and ask what personality processes are involved. Based on an extended pro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality 2024-06, Vol.92 (3), p.764-783
Main Authors: Baumert, Anna, Mentrup, Fabian Ezra, Klümper, Lisa, Sasse, Julia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Bravery
Candidates
Cognitive-behavioral factors
Courage
Disengagement
Ecological momentary assessment
Efficacy
Emotions
Everyday life
experience sampling
Female
Germany
Humans
Intervention
Male
Middle Aged
moral courage
Morals
Personality
personality processes
Personality tests
Self Efficacy
Violations
Young Adult
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Summary:Introduction Moral courage manifests in acts intended to intervene to stop or redress witnessed moral norm violations, despite the risk of negative consequences for the intervener. We investigate moral courage in everyday life and ask what personality processes are involved. Based on an extended process model of moral courage, we derived hypotheses on cognitive and emotional processes that should facilitate or hinder intervention. Further, we identified candidate personality dispositions that should shape these processes and thereby predict who tends to intervene against others' norm violations and who does not. Methods Using a quota‐based sample of the German population (N = 1108), we conducted a personality assessment, followed by a 7‐day experience sampling during which participants reported norm violations witnessed in their daily life as well as their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions. Results In total, 678 participants reported 1965 norm violations and intervened against 32% of them. Dispositional self‐efficacy facilitated intervention by increasing a sense of efficacy when confronted with others' norm violations. Conversely, dispositional moral disengagement hindered intervention by reducing perceived own responsibility. Discussion Our findings provide novel insights into the situations affording moral courage in everyday life, and the personality processes that uniquely guide this behavior.
ISSN:0022-3506
1467-6494
DOI:10.1111/jopy.12850