Prof. Naomi Ellemers

The University of Utrecht in the Netherlands

Naomi Ellemers is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Honorary Professor at the University of Queensland, Australia (https://www.naomi-ellemers.nl/). She is Crown member of the Social Economic Council of the Netherlands (https://www.ser.nl/nl/ser/raad/raadsleden), and one of seven Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission (https://scientificadvice.eu/about-us/group-of-chief-scientific-advisors/about-the-advisors/). Her research ranges from psychophysiological indicators of group processes and intergroup relations to practical issues in work teams and organizations relating to diversity, inclusion, integrity and ethical business conduct (https://www.uu.nl/staff/NEllemers). She acts as PI in multidisciplinary research consortia on Sustainable Cooperation (SCOOP https://www.scoop-program.org/), and Social Cohesion (SOCION https://socion-program.org/). She applied research-based insights in her activities as one of Athena’s Angels (https://athenasangels.nl/nl/), in the Netherlands Inclusivity Monitor (https://www.nederlandseinclusiviteitsmonitor.nl/), as chair of the Netherlands Royal Academy of Sciences committee on social safety in Dutch academia (https://www.knaw.nl/en/publications/social-safety-dutch-academia-paper-practice), and as research leader investigating transgressive behavior in Dutch public broadcasting companies (https://www.caop.nl/cases/niets-gezien-niets-gehoord-en-niets-gedaan-rapport-van-de-onderzoekscommissie-gedrag-en-cultuur-omroepen-ogco/). For eight years (2015-2023), she was member of the external supervisory board of PwC in the Netherlands. In addition to her scientific publications she writes a monthly expert page for het Financieele Dagblad (https://fd.nl/auteur/naomi-ellemers), and has published several books targeting broad audiences. Her research on morality as a key factor in regulating social behavior is summarized in her contribution to the EASP Monograph series European Studies in Social Psychology (https://www.routledge.com/Morality-and-the-Regulation-of-Social-Behavior-Groups-as-Moral-Anchors/Ellemers/p/book/9781138958180).

The Paradox of Morality

Evaluations of the moral behavior or the self and others play a key role in people’s self-views and in social interactions. People are generally quite motivated to demonstrate their good intentions when engaging in morally charged choices and behaviors. The downside of this motivation is that they tend to respond quite defensively when confronted with their moral failures, and are resilient to feedback they receive on their moral behavior. This is what I consider the paradox of morality. In this presentation I will review results from our ongoing program of research to examine the origins, nature, and implications of this paradox. Our studies on the one hand reveal cognitive engagement with assignments that can demonstrate one’s good moral intentions. On the other hand they demonstrate emergence of cardiovascular stress and cognitive resilience when one’s moral choices are called into question. These results inform further studies that help understand and predict people’s behaviors in morally charged situations. We apply these insights to improve interventions aiming to optimize rule compliance and ethical behavior in organizations. These studies also elucidate how our research benefits from ongoing collaborations with regulators, inspectors, and policy makers.

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