Are talented people more virtuous in the eyes of others? Positive effects of competence on perceived morality

Existing research on competence and morality focuses on their role in impression formation, overlooking their impact on each other. In five studies, we explored whether a target person's competence influences perceived morality of the target through interpersonal attraction. The results showed that perceived competence of a target individual was positively correlated with interpersonal attraction, which in turn positively correlated with morality (Study 1). Using an experimental design, we further found that competent individuals were considered more attractive, making them being perceived more moral than incompetent ones (Studies 2-4). In addition, an initially immoral individual was perceived as being moral when he was described as highly competent (Study 3) whereas an initially moral individual was perceived as being immoral when he was described as having low competence (Study 4). These findings were not completely accounted for by the halo effect (Study 5). The results supported that competence information promotes perceptions of morality in person perception.