Personality Feedback as an Intervention to Encourage Positive Changes on Moral Traits

Abstract

ABSTRACT Individuals have a pervasive bias to see themselves as more moral than justified based on their actions, which may undermine their desire to change for the better. To overcome this lack of self-knowledge, a useful method may be to provide individuals with personality feedback. No research has systematically investigated how individuals receive and perceive personality feedback, especially when it is negative and deals with a key aspect of identity, such as morality. The present mixed-methods study aimed to tackle this issue. Participants (N = 17) completed a self-report measure of trait morality (covering honesty, humility, fairness, compassion, and gratitude) and invited 3–5 well-acquainted others to provide corresponding informant reports. Participants then received detailed feedback about their trait morality based on these reports and completed a semi-structured interview with a trained psychologist to assess their perception of the feedback. Results showed that participants generally found the feedback helpful, even when it was negative. As expected, feedback – especially when participants were negatively surprised – was associated with an increase in goals to change in socially desirable ways. “Surprise” and “explanations” were two main recurring themes in the interviews, illuminating the process behind receiving (negative) feedback and developing a motivation to change.