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Moral emotions underlie puritanical morality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2023

Ruida Zhu Open the ORCID record for Ruida Zhu [Opens in a new window]  and
Chao Liu
Ruida Zhu
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. zhuruida@foxmail.com; https://psy.sysu.edu.cn/teacher/1138 Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Chao Liu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. liuchao@bnu.edu.cn; https://liuchaolab.bnu.edu.cn/mobile/en/ Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Abstract

Fitouchi et al. illustrate the cognitive and evolutionary foundations of puritanical morality, while leave the emotional foundation unclear. We complement their theory by proposing moral emotions (e.g., guilt and shame) as characteristic emotions underlying puritanical morality. Our proposition is based on the findings that these moral emotions emerge after violations of puritanical norms and promote self-control and cooperation.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e321
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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