Moral Compass: Definition, Examples & How To Develop It

What Is a Moral Compass?

A moral compass is an individual’s personal beliefs about what is right and wrong, sometimes called a moral code. A person’s moral compass develops from a combination of life experiences and the culture they live in. While every person has a moral compass, not everyone’s moral compass has the same values, and therefore their moral compass can steer them in a very different direction.

Moral Compass Vs. Conscience

A conscience is different from a moral compass in its functions. A moral compass helps you make decisions, while a conscience reinforces or punishes the decisions you have made or plan to make. One’s moral compass helps them to know that an action is incongruous with their moral belief system. In contrast, one’s conscience makes a person feel guilty to motivate a person to make a different choice in the future.

What Are Examples of Moral Compass Values?

Societies throughout history have differed in what principles are most valuable, and so examples of moral compass values are endless. For example, your moral compass may show you that some situation is unfair, while another person may be raised in a society where equality is not a value.

Some examples of common moral compass values include:

• Humility: The recognition that you are not better than others but choosing to serve instead.
• Tolerance: Specifically to tolerate differences in each other’s beliefs, cultures, and lifestyles.
• Equality: The belief that every person shares similar rights and responsibilities to each other.
• Autonomy: The ability to choose for yourself without coercion from others. A common phrase that exemplifies this is, “You do you”.
• Generosity: To give what you have so that the less fortunate can benefit.
• Fairness: When you work for payment, you expect to be paid.
• Social Responsibility: This means to support your community by contributing. For example, picking up litter or paying taxes.

What Are the Six Foundations of a Moral Compass?

Researchers have identified six core moral concerns that make up most people’s moral compass: care, equality, proportionality, loyalty, authority, and purity. This framework, called Moral Foundations Theory, was developed by psychologists Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham and updated in 2023 by Mohammad Atari and colleagues using data from 25 populations around the world (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2023). People in every culture draw on these same foundations, but they weigh them differently, which is why two thoughtful people can reach opposite moral conclusions.

The six foundations are:

• Care: Protecting others from harm and easing suffering.
• Equality: Wanting people to be treated the same and to have equal outcomes.
• Proportionality: Wanting rewards to match effort and contribution.
• Loyalty: Standing by your family, friends, and groups.
• Authority: Respecting legitimate leaders, rules, and traditions.
• Purity: Avoiding things that feel degrading or contaminating, physically or spiritually.

The 2023 update split the older “fairness” foundation into equality and proportionality after finding they are distinct concerns that often pull in different directions. Knowing which foundations you weigh most heavily can make your own moral compass easier to read, and it can make other people’s choices less baffling. Someone who prioritizes loyalty and authority is not compass-less; their compass simply points to different foundations than one calibrated toward care and equality.

How Does a Moral Compass Develop?

Many philosophers would say that a moral conscience develops gradually over time. Influential figures such as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg, whose six stages of moral development remain widely taught, have built detailed and intricate models to explain how a person becomes moral over time.¹ Their theories have different suggestions about what factors influence the development, but both agree that a person’s sense of morality develops over time.

Things that impact the way a person’s moral compass develops include:

Cultural Norms

Culture shapes a moral compass by defining which values a community rewards, which it punishes, and which moral questions get discussed at all. The culture you live in will bring unique perspectives to the challenges and consequences of the past. An example of how cultural norms can shift morality is how in the 17th century, the view of children shifted. Philosophers began to think about children as individuals that needed to be nurtured. This belief, coupled with technology innovations, led to a shift where children no longer worked on the farm all day and instead went to school to be educated.

Parents & Upbringing

Life in the home is a significant factor in moral development.³ Parents are able to directly teach through conversation and example throughout formative years. If not a biological parent, people learn from parent figures, such as uncles, grandparents, or others. Parents help teach children important moral distinctions.⁴

Education

Schools and other educational environments provide important opportunities for developing your moral compass. This happens in various contexts, such as interactions with peers and the curriculum provided by the schools. Teachers also provide important means of aligning your moral compass. Schools also provide some of your earliest chances to choose and experience the consequences, good and bad, of moral decisions.

Life Experiences

Life experience is a powerful shaping force of our moral compass. Painful experiences, such as childhood trauma or sexual trauma, can lead to the conclusion that isolating yourself is moral, as it is safer. While painful experiences can be the easiest to remember, it is worth recognizing that positive experiences also shape our morality. For example, a positive experience with a neighbor can help us feel a moral responsibility to care for our communities.

Spiritual Communities

Religious teaching and concepts provide a view of the world that help develop your moral compass. At times, this will juxtapose in unexpected ways with your culture. Religious communities teach people how to apply this worldview in their life and learn to make moral decisions. At times, the religious context can provide conflict with lessons you learn elsewhere.

Media

Regardless of whether it makes for good teaching about morals, you also develop your moral compass from the things you read, watch, and listen to. This can be healthy and helpful, teaching you lessons that support other areas you are exposed to. It is also possible that you will think about situations in a new light or become aware of unexpected moral dilemmas.

Political Influences

Politics participates in the development of your moral compass throughout life. However, it becomes particularly influential once you are able to participate in your political institutions. Reaching the voting age in America is an important moment to let your voice be heard.

Throughout history, politicians have used morality to gain or remain in power. They have done so by interacting with the moral climate of their culture to motivate people to perpetuate the existing systems or revolt against them. A 2020 study in the American Journal of Political Science analyzed party platforms across six English-speaking democracies, including the United States, and found that parties using more moral language saw higher turnout among their own supporters.⁵ Political parties are fighting over your vote, and they benefit more if you believe it is not a battle between good and bad but good and evil.

Why Is a Moral Compass Important?

A moral compass matters because it lets you make hard decisions quickly, consistently, and in line with who you want to be. If you have a well-developed moral compass, other people will feel more able to trust you. This would happen because they understand your behavior and approve of it. They may even aspire to be more like you in how they’ve observed your moral compass.

What Happens If Someone Lacks a Moral Compass?

Someone described as lacking a moral compass usually has one; it is simply calibrated to values that most people around them reject. To act the way they do would ignore your moral compass and violate your conscience.

A meta-analysis of 23 studies with 4,376 participants found that psychopathic individuals show only small differences in moral decision-making and moral reasoning.⁶ In other words, people with psychopathic traits generally understand right and wrong; the difference lies in how much weight those moral concerns carry when they act. Even subtle differences like these can make a person’s decisions confusing and sometimes harmful to the people around them.

How Can You Strengthen Your Moral Compass?

Your moral compass is a dynamic part of who you are and is evolving all the time. We are challenged to decide between competing interests daily, and many of these interests contain moral implications. The blessing of this daily occurrence is that you get to do this again tomorrow. No one day will set your moral compass in stone.

Ways to strengthen your moral compass include:

• Accept moral conflict: Conflict is an essential part of moral reasoning. This is important because learning to decide between competing values is a vital part of strengthening your moral compass.
• Seek out diverse perspectives: Using your moral compass can be difficult. Talking with a wide variety of people can help you weigh different options. It can help to hear how other people use theirs.
• Be careful who you admire: People we follow online and model our lives around are big influences on our moral decisions.
• Learn more about the good you want: Everyone wants to be a good person. It is hard to know how to be good. Spend time trying to understand what it means to be a good person.
• Be patient with yourself: You will make mistakes. When you do, try to learn from them instead of being crushed by them.
• Strive for virtue: Virtues are qualities we possess that make being good easier. For example, being courageous helps us make difficult decisions that are risky or dangerous. Strive for these virtues, and your moral compass will improve.

When to Seek Professional Support

Understanding your moral compass can be a confusing journey, and therapy can provide a space to explore your morality in a judgment-free manner. Alternatively, if someone in your life has a misaligned moral compass, therapy can be important to enable you to set healthy boundaries with the person and ensure that you are not taken advantage of.

If you need help finding a therapist, consider using an online therapist directory. Or, consider online therapy options if you prefer to see a therapist from the comfort of your own home.

In My Experience

In my experience, people feel strongly that their moral compass is stronger than those around them. In my work, I encourage my clients to strive to be good to themselves and others regardless of help from others. If you are struggling with the concept of a moral compass, I hope you can continue that journey and learn more about goodness and excellence. Improving one’s moral compass is an important challenge that everybody should take to improve the world we live in.