Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

The Influence of Positive Emotion Interventions on Human Morality

Yilei Zheng Carleton College*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Research on emotions and morality has shown correlations between specific emotions with certain moral inclinations. This literature review adopts the positive emotion taxonomy from Keltner and Cowen to discuss how four key positive emotions (compassion, awe, contentment, and gratitude) and their corresponding positive emotion interventions influence human morality. Drawing on several empirical studies, this literature review marks out four key mechanisms (prosocial behavior, compassion and moral expansiveness, emotional regulation, and social connectedness) that interact with each other within a feedback loop, which further provide cues for predicting moral inclinations via positive emotions. However, among most empirical studies, the causational relationship between positive emotions and human morality is still underexplored. Also, the suggested correlations are often limited to a bounded pair of emotion and moral aspect. Researchers should further look into the application of those relationships in real-world circumstances, such as morality cultivation for educational purposes. Overall, this review emphasizes the validity of applying positive emotions as cues in predicting people’s moral inclinations and possible moral responses.

Keywords: positive emotions; moral inclination; human morality; positive psychology interventions
Published: November 5, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.HT28921
Volume: CHR Vol.95
pp. 79-87
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