Navigating mundane moral dilemmas: how negative emotion and emotion regulation influence ethical decision-making

Based in a dual-process model of moral judgment, we tested how negative emotion influences unethical decision-making in moral dilemmas and how emotion regulation may attenuate this effect. Study 1 manipulated reappraisal whereas Study 2 measured the spontaneous use of various emotion regulation strategies. Participants read one mundane moral dilemma and rated their emotions (combined N = 980). In Study 1, participants were instructed to downregulate or upregulate negative emotion through reappraisal (vs. control). In Study 2, participants self-reported their use of emotion regulation in response to the same moral dilemmas. After each moral dilemma, participants self-reported their likelihood of making an unethical decision. Results from both studies revealed negative emotion was associated with less unethical decision-making, and in Study 1, positive emotion was associated with greater unethical decision-making. Participants instructed to downregulate their negative emotions exhibited an increased likelihood of unethical decision-making (vs. control), and this effect was mediated by moral disengagement (Study 1). Moreover, higher (vs. lower) applied mindfulness processes and emotion regulation strategies like reappraisal and emotional expression were associated with a weaker negative emotion-unethical decision-making relationship (Study 2). These findings suggest that regulating negative emotion can attenuate its moral deterrent function, thereby increasing unethical choices.