Emotions and ethics: How emotions sensitize perceptions of the consequences for self and others to motivate unethical behavior

• Published in: Current opinion in psychology Vol. 48; p. 101464
• Main Authors: Yip, Jeremy A., Lee, Kelly Kiyeon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2022
• Subjects: Affect; Deception; Emotions; Ethics; Fraud; Honesty; Humans; Lies; Moral psychology; Morality; Morals; Negotiations; Unethical behavior; Ethics; Honesty; Morality; Deception; Negotiations; Fraud; Affect; Unethical behavior; Emotions; Lies; Moral psychology
• ISSN: 2352-250X; 2352-2518; 2352-250X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101464

In this work, we suggest that emotions differentiated by cognitive appraisals may promote self-concern or other-concern that alter the utilitarian calculus of weighing the harm and benefits associated with moral decision-making. We introduce the Emotions and Ethics Framework to elucidate the intrapsychic effect of emotion on deception. When emotions promote self-concern, individuals are more likely engage in selfish deception. By contrast, when emotions promote other-concern, individuals are more likely to exhibit honesty. Furthermore, we extrapolate our theoretical model to consider how felt emotions influence different types of deception: selfish lies, prosocial lies, spiteful lies, and pareto lies. Finally, we theorize about the interpersonal effect of emotional expressions on deception, suggesting that the ethical consequences of emotion contagion and reverse–appraisal processes are distinct.