Do People Want to Be More Moral?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Moral Psychology
• Personality Science

Background:

• Individuals often seek self-improvement, but the extent to which this applies to moral character is less understood.
• Research has primarily focused on general personality change rather than moral trait modification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether the desire for personality change extends to moral character traits.
• To compare self-perceived desires for change with close others' perceptions and desires for change.
• To examine how moral relevance influences goals for personality modification.

Main Methods:

• Survey methodology involving 800 targets rating their personality traits and desired changes.
• Inclusion of 958 well-acquainted informants rating targets' traits and desired changes.
• Statistical analysis controlling for current trait levels to assess change goals.

Main Results:

• Both targets and informants expressed a lower desire to change morally relevant traits (e.g., honesty, compassion) compared to less morally relevant traits (e.g., anxiety, sociability).
• Self-improvement goals were less aligned with current levels for moral traits than for non-moral traits.
• Informants' desired changes for targets mirrored targets' own desires but were generally less pronounced.

Conclusions:

• Moral considerations appear to be less prioritized in self-improvement goals compared to other personality aspects.
• The findings highlight a potential disconnect between the importance of moral traits and the motivation to change them.
• Understanding these motivations is crucial for theories of personality development and moral psychology.