Moral Improvement of Self, Social Relations, and Society

Abstract

There is always room for moral improvement. However, very few prior reviews have focused on the phenomenon of moral improvement of self, social relations, or society. We first consider prevailing notions of the self-concept by highlighting the niche of theory and research that identifies an improving self as a possible identity and basis of motivation to act better and to be better. Second, we discuss moral improvement in the context of social relations, especially the close interpersonal relations that should most facilitate moral improvement. Third, we examine the moral improvement of society, focusing on the factors that facilitate or inhibit caring about potential immorality despite issues such as inequality, discrimination, and the climate crisis seeming morally distant and impersonal. Finally, we discuss future directions for theory, research, and application. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 75 is January 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Further development of the reflective practice questionnaire

“…An exception was the desire for improvement items that we left out of the analysis. This was left out because after careful consideration we determined that the original RPQ sub-scale does not provide a measure that is nuanced enough to adequately cover this complex motivational construct ( Breckenridge et al, 2019 ; Leach & Iyer, 2023 ).…”