Virtues, ecological momentary assessment/intervention and smartphone technology

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Moral Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Virtues, defined as stable dispositions, are increasingly studied in psychology.
• Situational influences on behavior challenge the concept of stable virtues.
• Current research methods may be insufficient to assess dispositional stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the limitations of prevailing methods in testing virtue stability.
• To propose ecological momentary assessment (EMA) as a robust method for studying virtues.
• To explore the potential of smartphone technology for virtue research and development.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing existing literature on situational influences and virtue research.
• Advocating for repeated, cross-situational assessments via EMA (experience sampling).
• Examining the utility of smartphone apps for EMA and ecological momentary intervention (EMI).

Main Results:

• Prevailing methods have limitations in assessing dispositional stability.
• EMA, particularly via smartphones, offers a more robust approach to studying virtues.
• Smartphones enable novel methods for ecological momentary assessment and intervention.

Conclusions:

• Smartphone technology enhances EMA and EMI, making them more robust psychological tools.
• This technology opens new avenues for studying and promoting virtues in non-clinical populations.
• EMA/I via smartphones can facilitate virtue development by influencing daily thoughts and behaviors.