Passion as a Moral Cue: How Obsessive and Harmonious Passion Shape Moral Expectations and Role Assignment

Abstract

Passion is often celebrated as a driver of success, yet it also serves as a social cue that shapes moral expectations. Across five studies (N = 1,849), we examine how perceptions of obsessive versus harmonious passion influence workplace inferences and decisions. Obsessively passionate individuals are perceived as more likely to engage in goal-instrumental unethical behavior than harmoniously passionate or less passionate counterparts. These expectations guide selection: obsessively passionate individuals are disproportionately chosen for roles involving morally questionable conduct. This preference emerges even when obsessive passion is viewed as no more ethically risky than low self-control, suggesting that anticipated immorality is not penalized uniformly. Rather, obsessive passion pairs moral suspicion with valued qualities (e.g., dedication, drive), making ethical flexibility seem instrumentally useful. Passion type thus functions as a moral cue shaping how people are evaluated and deployed at work, raising concerns that organizations may inadvertently reinforce boundary crossing by rewarding “passion.”