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How prosocial is moral courage?

Julia Sasse¹, Mengyao Li¹, Anna Baumert²

¹Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn, Germany.

Current Opinion in Psychology

|October 11, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Moral courage, defending beliefs despite risks, is complex. Differences in beliefs and confrontational acts challenge its prosociality, requiring nuanced research.

Keywords:

Anger Moral courage Morality Prosociality

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Ethics
Sociology

Background:

Moral courage, defined as upholding moral beliefs under personal risk, is typically viewed as prosocial.
However, the prosocial nature of moral courage is not always straightforward.

Purpose of the Study:

To critically examine the complexity of prosociality within moral courage.
To review literature highlighting aspects that challenge the inherent prosociality of moral courage.

Main Methods:

Literature review focusing on two key aspects of moral courage.
Analysis of how differing moral beliefs and confrontational tactics impact perceived prosociality.

Main Results:

Prosociality in moral courage is often evident at a societal level but can be contested.
Conflicts in moral beliefs and the confrontational nature of actions complicate its prosocial assessment.

Conclusions:

Future research must consider the multifaceted nature of prosociality in moral courage.
A nuanced understanding is crucial for comprehending the psychological underpinnings and societal contributions of moral courage.