Tag Archive: Study: Moral Outrage ‘Alleviates Guilt’ over People’s Own Moral Failings

Study: Moral Outrage ‘Alleviates Guilt’ over People’s Own Moral Failings

by Tom Ciccotta A recent psychological study concluded that moral outrage is sometimes a symptom of personal guilt rather than genuine empathy for the situation of others. The study, which was conducted by Bowdoin psychology Professor Zachary Rothschild and University of Southern Mississippi psychology Professor Lucas A. Keefer, concludes that the research on guilt suggests that moral outrage over hot-button issues is sometimes self-serving. According to the study: Feelings of guilt are a direct threat to one’s sense that they are a moral person and, accordingly, research on guilt finds that this emotion elicits strategies aimed at alleviating guilt that do not… View Article