Sleepy Judgment: Is Effort Moralization a Function of Fatigue

Effort moralization — seeing higher effort as more moral, even if it doesn’t increase performance — is a bias in character judgment. Despite several studies, few moderators of the effect have been discovered: we suggest that subjective fatigue could be a candidate mechanism. Given that being more tired oneself makes tasks appear harder and therefore require more effort, we propose that fatigued individuals will perceive a higher difference in effort and therefore a higher difference in moral judgments.To test this hypothesis, we will replicate the effort moralization effect and assess fatigue as a moderator in at least six countries. Additionally, we will complete five exploratory analyses at the country level. This includes five potential alternate moderators as well as potential consequences of the effect. This research is important to understand bullshit jobs, burnout, and social perception.

Team

Supervisor: Leopold Roth
Project Manager: Anita Neebar
Communication Officer: Francesco Campanella
Literature Co-Leads: Avielle Hamilton & Hanna Sosliuk
Writing Co-Coordinators: Melissa Lange & Ida Vraničar