ERIC Number: EJ1011839
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-7240
EISSN: N/A
Who Engages with Moral Beauty?
Diessner, Rhett; Iyer, Ravi; Smith, Meghan M.; Haidt, Jonathan
Journal of Moral Education, v42 n2 p139-163 2013
Aristotle considered moral beauty to be the "telos" of the human virtues. Displays of moral beauty have been shown to elicit the moral emotion of elevation and cause a desire to become a better person and to engage in prosocial behavior. Study 1 ("N" = 5380) shows engagement with moral beauty is related to several psychological constructs relevant to moral education, and structural models reveal that the story of engagement with moral beauty may be considered a story of love and connectedness; it is uniquely predictive of caring for, being empathic of, loving, and valuing benevolence toward others. Study 2 ("N" = 542) demonstrates that the personality trait of engaging with moral beauty moderates susceptibility to elevation. These studies suggest that encouraging students to engage with moral beauty might increase their desire to become better persons and to do good. Convergent with other research showing that moral emotions motivate moral behavior, we suggest that moral education programs increase their focus on developing engagement with moral beauty. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Aesthetics, Moral Values, Prosocial Behavior, Personality Traits, Emotional Response, Ethical Instruction, Gender Differences, Age Differences, Political Attitudes, Social Desirability, Correlation, Models, Multiple Regression Analysis, Predictor Variables
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Interpersonal Reactivity Index
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A