Moral Superiority and Social Perception

Overview

• Steven Colbert's observation during the US election relates to a common belief of moral superiority among individuals.
• New research in Social Psychological and Personality Science supports this.
• The study highlights our irrational tendency to view ourselves as morally superior.

Understanding Perceived Superiority

• People often believe they are more moral than others.
• This is an extension of the "better than average" effect seen in other areas like driving and attractiveness.

Rational vs. Irrational Contexts

• Rational Contexts:
  • Clear comparisons, e.g., IQ scores.
  • Unique strengths without general applicability.
• Irrational Contexts:
  • Assuming universal superiority without evidence, e.g., kindness to kittens without objective test results.

Study by Ben Tappin and Ryan McKay

• Aim: To test if people see their moral virtues as unique.
• Method: 270 participants rated themselves and the average person on 30 traits.
  • Traits divided into morality (e.g., honesty), sociability (e.g., warm), and agency (e.g., competent).
• Hypothesis: Logical individuals should socially project and assume similarities with others.

Key Findings

• Participants engaged in social projection but less so in morality.
• Rated themselves higher on moral traits than others (e.g., trustworthiness 6.1 vs. 4.3 for others).
  • Competence and warmth were not rated as inflated.
• Conclusion: A tendency to consider oneself morally superior.

Implications

• Mismatches between self-ratings and others often lack rational basis in morality.
• People aren’t aware of others’ motivations, yet rationalize their own.
• "Positivity illusions" do not correlate with greater wellbeing.
  • Moral superiority doesn't provide peace of mind.

Conclusion

• Awareness of these biases is vital, especially in political contexts.
• The study suggests reconsidering our self-ratings and assumptions about others.

Further Reading

• The Illusion of Moral Superiority