Morality as a Basic Psychological Need

Abstract

We investigate the long-standing yet understudied assumption that feeling moral is a basic psychological need, perhaps like the needs to feel autonomous, competent, and related (ACR). We report an empirical "entrance exam" on whether morality should be considered a need. Specifically, we applied to morality a pioneering method from which Sheldon and colleagues provided evidence that ACR are basic psychological needs. In two studies and four samples, participants recalled events in which they felt un/satisfied, meaningful, pleasurable, at their best, and at their worst. They rated how much candidate psychological needs were satisfied during them. Morality was frequently as or more satisfied than ACR during peak events. Further, it was positively related to indices of positive functioning. These findings suggest feelings of being moral may help people identify times when life is going well. Further, they suggest that morality may be a fundamental psychological need and warrants further investigation.

Distinguishing between basic psychological needs and basic wellness enhancers: the case of beneficence as a candidate psychological need

“…Other candidate wellness enhancers might include needs for nature (e.g. Ryan et al 2010), morality (Prentice et al 2019), and novelty (González-Cutre et al 2016) among others. Only through empirical research can we see whether the category of wellness enhancers makes sense, and what constructs could belong to such a category.…”

“…Harmful behavior towards others can also lead to various social retributions and punishments, which might negatively affect the long-term well-being of the actor, but these have not been the focus of the present article. Finally, the relation between morality, which has also been proposed as a candidate need (Prentice et al 2019) and beneficence merits attention in the future, as many types of actions might simultaneously satisfy both, although not all benevolent acts are moral as Batson et al (1995) showed.…”

Basic psychological need theory: Advancements, critical themes, and future directions

“…A final criterion is that the basic psychological needs should play an important explanatory role in the effects of social contexts on developmental outcomes. Technically, basic psychological needs should be context-responsive constructs (Prentice et al 2019), thus systematically showing variability as a function of contextual variations, while also mediating the relation between variations in social environments and individuals' psychosocial adjustment.…”

Disentangling principled and opportunistic motives for reacting to injustice: A genetically-informed exploration of justice sensitivity

“…Being seen by one's social group as impartial and committed to moral rules is valuable from a game theoretic standpoint (Schelling, 1960), as this increases others' expected returns from mutually beneficial cooperation. Consistent with this, the preservation of a narrative of moral consistency to self and others could be a basic psychological need (Prentice et al, 2019;Vonasch et al, 2017). If people indeed experience principled moral motivations, and if they do so to varying degrees, then this should contribute to positive correlations between the four facets of the Justice Sensitivity scale.…”