Dispositional greed and moral emotions

Greed is the insatiable desire for more of the things that one values, combined dissatisfaction over what one currently has. Research found that greedy people find dishonest, unethical, and immoral behaviour more acceptable, disregard the negative outcomes for others, and are more likely to engage in such behaviours. The current research examined whether being greedy is associated with lower scores on moral emotions (guilt and shame) related to dishonest, unethical, and immoral behaviour. Study 1 (N = 397) found that dispositional greed was unambiguously associated with lower scores on guilt proneness, but, with sometimes higher scores on shame proneness, using various different measures of guilt and shame proneness. Study 2 (N = 550) found that greedy people expected to experience less guilt and shame after committing a moral transgression, compared to less greedy people. Exploratory analyses revealed that greedier people expected less regret when transgressing, but more regret when not doing so (perhaps related to foregoing a benefit). Also, greedier people expected more positive emotions, such as happiness and satisfaction after committing transgressions (perhaps related to rejoicing over the obtained benefit). These findings provide novel insights into how emotions interplay with immoral behaviour and greed.