Émotions morales et comportement prosocial : Une revue de la littérature

This article provides a literature review on the role of moral emotions in economics. Drawing on empirical results obtained in experimental economics and psychology, we first discuss the impact of moral emotions on the emergence of other-regarding behaviors such as cooperation, altruism, trust and reciprocity. We especially highlight how the affective sanction associated with negative moral emotions (guilt, shame, righteous anger...) participates in the regulation of opportunistic behaviors, whereas the affective reward derived from positive moral emotions (pride, gratitude...) promotes socially or morally valued behaviors. Second, we focus on how economists have responded to the challenge of integrating a role for moral emotions into economic theory. We particularly point out that, in a minimalist conception, emotions can be formalized as exogenous preferences activated because of the behavioral constraints embodied in pre-existing implicit social or moral norms. Nevertheless, a broader and (we argue) more realistic conception of emotions would allow their influence to depend on agents? intentions, expectations, and personalities as well as on the specific context of a decision, implying that moral emotions may be better understood as a form of endogenous preferences.