The integration of agency and communion in moral personality: Evidence of enlightened self-interest.

Abstract

Agency and communion are fundamental human motives, often conceptualized as being in tension. This study examines the notion that moral exemplars overcome this tension and adaptively integrate these 2 motives within their personality. Participants were 25 moral exemplars-recipients of a national award for extraordinary volunteerism-and 25 demographically matched comparison participants. Each participant responded to a life review interview and provided a list of personal strivings, which were coded for themes of agency and communion; interviews were also coded for the relationship between agency and communion. Results consistently indicated that exemplars not only had both more agency and communion than did comparison participants but were also more likely to integrate these themes within their personality. Consistent with our claim that enlightened self-interest is driving this phenomenon, this effect was evident only when agency and communion were conceptualized in terms of promoting interests (of the self and others, respectively) and not in terms of psychological distance (from others) and only when the interaction was observed with a person approach and not with the traditional variable approach. After providing a conceptual replication of these results using different measures elicited in different contexts and relying on different coding procedures, we addressed and dismissed various alternative explanations, including chance co-occurrence and generalized complexity. These results provide the first reliable evidence of the integration of motives of agency and communion in moral personality.

The Development of Moral Imagination

“…During the highest forms of moral imagination there is a double aim of valuing community-wide interests and maintaining respect for individual autonomy (rather than pitting one against the other ;Rest et al, 1999). Frimer, Walker, Dunlop, Lee, and Riches (2011) found that moral exemplars who were especially altruistic and influential were able to act in accordance with values of agency and communion in the same actions, rather than favoring one or the other. Individuals who develop moral complexity and imagination are able to see a greater number of values as relevant to a situation rather than letting one override the others (see Baron & Spranca, 1997).…”

Self-interest and Altruism: Pluralism as a Basis for Leadership in Business

“…Research in social psychology provided empirical support for this view, citing that self-interest and altruistic factors can concurrently be high or low (Frimer, Walker, Dunlop, Lee, & Riches, 2011); Progressive altruism: Progressive altruism is commonly seen in ethical discussions, and has emerged as a trend in leadership. Theories such as Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs widely consider self-interest as the base or starting point for morality.…”

Identifying and Defending the Hard Core of Virtue Ethics

“…suggestive evidence, however, is available. in a fascinating study, Jeremy Frimer et al (2011) interviewed twenty-five "moral exemplars" (recipients of a national award for extraordinary volunteerism) and twenty-five demographically matched ordinary people. they found that the exemplars exhibited higher levels of commitment to the promotion of their own interests, to the promotion of the interests of their communities, and, crucially, to the integration of their and their communities' interests.…”