Event Title
Trait moral elevation: Role in predicting mental health and social outcomes
Project Type
Completed quantitative research study
Primary Department
Clinical Psychology
Description
Moral elevation, the positive emotional state associated with observing virtuous acts (Haidt, 2003), is theorized to provide an emotional “reset” and motivate prosocial action. We hypothesized that trait moral elevation (TE) would predict improved mental health and social outcomes. Using a college student sample (N = 112), we found that TE predicted prosocial virtues and daily stress coping, but also higher daily depressive/anxiety symptoms. Results suggested that people high in trait ME may have a lower threshold to experience not only positive emotions but also negative feelings. Exploratory analysis also showed potential nonlinear effects of TE on mental health outcomes.
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Trait moral elevation: Role in predicting mental health and social outcomes
Moral elevation, the positive emotional state associated with observing virtuous acts (Haidt, 2003), is theorized to provide an emotional “reset” and motivate prosocial action. We hypothesized that trait moral elevation (TE) would predict improved mental health and social outcomes. Using a college student sample (N = 112), we found that TE predicted prosocial virtues and daily stress coping, but also higher daily depressive/anxiety symptoms. Results suggested that people high in trait ME may have a lower threshold to experience not only positive emotions but also negative feelings. Exploratory analysis also showed potential nonlinear effects of TE on mental health outcomes.
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This poster was also presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research, virtual, July 2022; and the Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Atlanta, GA, February 2023