An Analysis of Moral Motives in Economic and Social Decisions

Abstract

We present an analysis of moral motives as psychological instruments inducing people to solve collective action problems. Different social contexts are associated with different collective action problems, which call for different cooperative relationships and related moral motives. Cooperative contexts, associated with positive externalities, call for moral motives that reward people for promoting the common good, thereby enabling them to internalize the positive externalities. Competitive contexts, associated with negative externalities, call for moral motives that discourage people from harming one another, thereby promoting the internalization of the negative externalities. Group formation may be influenced by in-group social norms.

Keywords: moral norms, moral behavior, public good, social competition, group formation