Praise Is for Actions That Are Neither Expected nor Required

In six studies, we examined two foundational questions about moral praise. First, what makes an action praiseworthy? In Study 1, participants reported that actions that exceed duties (compared with dutiful actions) deserve greater praise and are perceived as less likely to happen. Second, what do ob...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPersonality & social psychology bulletin p. 1461672241289833
Main Authors Anderson, Rajen A, Nichols, Shaun, Pizarro, David A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 17.10.2024
Subjects
social signals
moral judgment
norms
praise
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Summary:In six studies, we examined two foundational questions about moral praise. First, what makes an action praiseworthy? In Study 1, participants reported that actions that exceed duties (compared with dutiful actions) deserve greater praise and are perceived as less likely to happen. Second, what do observers infer from praise? Praise may communicate information about local norms. In Study 2, we found that-in general-participants expect praise to increase the likelihood of a behavior. However, in Studies 3-6, participants inferred that moral behavior that receives praise is less common and is less required and expected of people. These inferences led individuals to judge that someone would be likely to perform a behavior that was praised. These studies provide insight into the lay beliefs and communicative function of moral praise.
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ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/01461672241289833