The past few decadeshave witnessed increased interest in virtues and the more fine-grained character traits that are exemplars or instances of virtues. Scientists have made immense strides in identifying, understanding, and measuring virtues and have generated tools to empower individuals to pursue virtues. However, a central limitation of current scientific knowledge about virtues is the challenge of measuring virtues accurately. Specifically, current self-report measures of virtues are prone to self-presentation biases, which occur when people give inaccurate or exaggerated reports of their characteristics due to intentional or unconscious tendencies to construct a positive image. Due to these biases, it is unclear to what degree virtue measures scores reflect desired positive images of individuals rather than actual levels of virtues.

Our project addresses this fundamental issue by developing and validating a measure of virtues that minimizes such biases. We draw upon recent innovations in the measurement of psychological characteristics to overcome self-presentation biases that are inherent in existing virtue measures.

Virtues are characteristics that have been widely endorsed by philosophies and religions across time and cultures. They have been valued for their proposed ability to be beneficial, specifically for those who have them as well as for the community in which they live. Ultimately, virtues are thought to be beneficial because they both engender and constitute eudaimonia, the full flourishing of the individual or the realization of one’s capabilities and potential. In other words, virtues are practically beneficial because they aid in the fulfillment of good outcomes that lead to indications of well-being (e.g., happiness), but are ends unto themselves because they are representations and aspects of well-being. Thus, virtues are grounded in an account of human flourishing, which attempts to address the central question of how to live the best life and the pragmatic concerns that question entails. This orientation emphasizes the excellences of character–the traits or habitual tendencies to think, feel, and act in certain ways–that would be ideal to cultivate, rather than ways one ought to behave.