Periodic Reporting for period 1 - KNOW-THYSELF (Increasing Self-Knowledge to Promote Moral Behavior)
Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2025-04-30
Moral behaviors such as fairness, cooperation, and honesty are the glue that holds societies together. When people act immorally—cheating, lying, or exploiting others—the social and economic consequences can be severe. A central question in the social sciences and humanities is: How can we encourage people to act more morally?
Traditionally, this has been addressed by changing the situation people are in. Governments and organizations promote ethical behavior by offering rewards or imposing penalties. Another common strategy is “nudging”—subtly steering people’s choices by changing how options are presented. While these approaches can work in the short term, they often fail to produce lasting change.
KNOW-THYSELF proposes a different approach: to foster moral behavior by helping individuals better understand themselves. Inspired by ancient philosophy, the project focuses on self-knowledge—specifically, understanding one’s own moral character. Many people overestimate their morality, a phenomenon known as moral self-enhancement. This project tests whether helping people gain a more accurate view of their moral strengths and weaknesses can lead to deeper, more lasting moral behavior.
To explore this idea, the project draws on psychology, philosophy, and behavioral science. It combines controlled experiments and real-life observations (e.g. daily experience sampling) to answer three key questions:
1. How can self-knowledge about moral character be increased?
2. Does increasing this self-knowledge lead to more moral behavior across situations?
3. Can it produce lasting changes in personality traits that support morality?
By addressing these questions, KNOW-THYSELF aims to advance our understanding of morality, personality, and self-perception. The findings may inform real-world practices such as education, leadership training, and public policy.
Traditionally, this has been addressed by changing the situation people are in. Governments and organizations promote ethical behavior by offering rewards or imposing penalties. Another common strategy is “nudging”—subtly steering people’s choices by changing how options are presented. While these approaches can work in the short term, they often fail to produce lasting change.
KNOW-THYSELF proposes a different approach: to foster moral behavior by helping individuals better understand themselves. Inspired by ancient philosophy, the project focuses on self-knowledge—specifically, understanding one’s own moral character. Many people overestimate their morality, a phenomenon known as moral self-enhancement. This project tests whether helping people gain a more accurate view of their moral strengths and weaknesses can lead to deeper, more lasting moral behavior.
To explore this idea, the project draws on psychology, philosophy, and behavioral science. It combines controlled experiments and real-life observations (e.g. daily experience sampling) to answer three key questions:
1. How can self-knowledge about moral character be increased?
2. Does increasing this self-knowledge lead to more moral behavior across situations?
3. Can it produce lasting changes in personality traits that support morality?
By addressing these questions, KNOW-THYSELF aims to advance our understanding of morality, personality, and self-perception. The findings may inform real-world practices such as education, leadership training, and public policy.
In the first phase of the project, we focused on identifying effective ways to increase self-knowledge about moral character. We tested whether interventions like personality feedback or guided introspection could motivate individuals to reflect on their moral strengths and weaknesses.
A series of pilot studies compared different feedback types—based on self-reports, peer reports, or introspection—and assessed participant reactions. Feedback based on self-reports proved most effective and scalable. Peer reports added little and posed practical challenges. We also developed a shorter, more accessible version of our introspection task, which retained key reflective elements.
These findings informed a large-scale study comparing four self-knowledge intervention groups: one received personality feedback, another engaged in introspection, a third experienced both, and a fourth served as a control. Results showed that personality feedback most effectively motivated participants to set goals for moral change. These findings are currently being prepared for publication.
In parallel, we addressed foundational questions about the nature and measurement of self-knowledge. We organized a structured international consensus process involving 17 leading psychology experts. Through surveys and a workshop, the group developed a shared definition of self-knowledge, outlined measurement criteria, and discussed its adaptability. A resulting paper is in preparation for Nature Reviews Psychology, which invited the submission.
We also developed a new psychological instrument—the Trait Morality Questionnaire (TMQ)—which assesses five key moral traits: honesty, fairness, compassion, modesty, and gratitude. In developing the Trait Morality Questionnaire (TMQ), we first evaluated an existing instrument—the Moral Character Questionnaire (MCQ)—but found significant psychometric and conceptual limitations. These findings underscored the need for a more robust and comprehensive tool, leading to the development of the TMQ. The TMQ is currently being validated in English and German and will be made publicly available for research and practical use.
Beyond these core achievements, we published two scientific review articles that explore key aspects of self-knowledge, including the concept of “willful ignorance”—when individuals avoid morally relevant information about themselves. These reviews, published in Current Opinion in Psychology, help position the project as a key contributor to emerging conversations about self-insight, ethics, and personal growth.
Finally, we have begun the next project phases, which focus on testing the practical impact of increased self-knowledge and on developing strategies for long-term personality change. One new study investigates whether increasing self-knowledge about moral character leads to more cooperative behavior, such as in economic games. This study aims to provide concrete evidence that self-knowledge can translate into more ethical and prosocial behavior.
Another paper, invited for submission to American Psychologist, develops a conceptual framework for moral personality change. It integrates research on volitional personality change with insights from health behavior on habit formation. This work will guide the development of an intervention targeting trait morality.
A series of pilot studies compared different feedback types—based on self-reports, peer reports, or introspection—and assessed participant reactions. Feedback based on self-reports proved most effective and scalable. Peer reports added little and posed practical challenges. We also developed a shorter, more accessible version of our introspection task, which retained key reflective elements.
These findings informed a large-scale study comparing four self-knowledge intervention groups: one received personality feedback, another engaged in introspection, a third experienced both, and a fourth served as a control. Results showed that personality feedback most effectively motivated participants to set goals for moral change. These findings are currently being prepared for publication.
In parallel, we addressed foundational questions about the nature and measurement of self-knowledge. We organized a structured international consensus process involving 17 leading psychology experts. Through surveys and a workshop, the group developed a shared definition of self-knowledge, outlined measurement criteria, and discussed its adaptability. A resulting paper is in preparation for Nature Reviews Psychology, which invited the submission.
We also developed a new psychological instrument—the Trait Morality Questionnaire (TMQ)—which assesses five key moral traits: honesty, fairness, compassion, modesty, and gratitude. In developing the Trait Morality Questionnaire (TMQ), we first evaluated an existing instrument—the Moral Character Questionnaire (MCQ)—but found significant psychometric and conceptual limitations. These findings underscored the need for a more robust and comprehensive tool, leading to the development of the TMQ. The TMQ is currently being validated in English and German and will be made publicly available for research and practical use.
Beyond these core achievements, we published two scientific review articles that explore key aspects of self-knowledge, including the concept of “willful ignorance”—when individuals avoid morally relevant information about themselves. These reviews, published in Current Opinion in Psychology, help position the project as a key contributor to emerging conversations about self-insight, ethics, and personal growth.
Finally, we have begun the next project phases, which focus on testing the practical impact of increased self-knowledge and on developing strategies for long-term personality change. One new study investigates whether increasing self-knowledge about moral character leads to more cooperative behavior, such as in economic games. This study aims to provide concrete evidence that self-knowledge can translate into more ethical and prosocial behavior.
Another paper, invited for submission to American Psychologist, develops a conceptual framework for moral personality change. It integrates research on volitional personality change with insights from health behavior on habit formation. This work will guide the development of an intervention targeting trait morality.
KNOW-THYSELF has already produced several advances that move beyond current standards in the study of morality, personality change, and self-knowledge.
A key innovation is the launch of a comprehensive expert consensus process on the definition and measurement of self-knowledge. We established a panel of 17 internationally recognized experts from across subfields in psychology and facilitated a structured consensus-building process. This included a series of expert surveys and an in-person workshop, resulting in a shared definition of self-knowledge, criteria for its scientific measurement, and agreed-upon positions on its adaptivity and potential for change. These outcomes provide a much-needed conceptual framework that will serve as a reference point for future research and applications. A resulting publication will be submitted to Nature Reviews Psychology, which has expressed strong interest in publishing the work.
The project has also developed and tested scalable interventions—personalized personality feedback and introspective reflection—that increase individuals' insight into their moral character and motivate goals for self-improvement. These methods offer an alternative to traditional behavior change strategies like incentives or nudges, providing a more person-centered, sustainable approach. Their comparative effectiveness is being empirically documented and will inform future intervention design.
The project also connects with broader scientific debates by synthesizing insights from multiple disciplines. For example, an upcoming conceptual paper integrates research on intentional personality change with the literature on habit formation from health psychology. This interdisciplinary perspective may lead to more effective and sustainable interventions for character development. The paper has been invited for submission to a special issue in American Psychologist, one of the field’s most prestigious journals.
By demonstrating that deeper self-understanding can support moral behavior and personality change, KNOW-THYSELF lays the groundwork for both scientific progress and practical applications that reach beyond the state of the art.
A key innovation is the launch of a comprehensive expert consensus process on the definition and measurement of self-knowledge. We established a panel of 17 internationally recognized experts from across subfields in psychology and facilitated a structured consensus-building process. This included a series of expert surveys and an in-person workshop, resulting in a shared definition of self-knowledge, criteria for its scientific measurement, and agreed-upon positions on its adaptivity and potential for change. These outcomes provide a much-needed conceptual framework that will serve as a reference point for future research and applications. A resulting publication will be submitted to Nature Reviews Psychology, which has expressed strong interest in publishing the work.
The project has also developed and tested scalable interventions—personalized personality feedback and introspective reflection—that increase individuals' insight into their moral character and motivate goals for self-improvement. These methods offer an alternative to traditional behavior change strategies like incentives or nudges, providing a more person-centered, sustainable approach. Their comparative effectiveness is being empirically documented and will inform future intervention design.
The project also connects with broader scientific debates by synthesizing insights from multiple disciplines. For example, an upcoming conceptual paper integrates research on intentional personality change with the literature on habit formation from health psychology. This interdisciplinary perspective may lead to more effective and sustainable interventions for character development. The paper has been invited for submission to a special issue in American Psychologist, one of the field’s most prestigious journals.
By demonstrating that deeper self-understanding can support moral behavior and personality change, KNOW-THYSELF lays the groundwork for both scientific progress and practical applications that reach beyond the state of the art.