Emotion regulation difficulties and moral judgment in different domains: The mediation of emotional valence and arousal

Many studies have demonstrated the crucial role of emotion in moral judgment, and some researchers have begun to pay attention to the association between emotion regulation and moral judgment. This study focused on the influence of individual differences in emotion regulation difficulties. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and scenarios in five moral domains from Moral Foundations Vignettes were administrated to 218 college students. The results indicated emotional regulation difficulties could significantly predict immorality judgment in all the five domains, and emotional valence and arousal mediated the effects in the domains of Harm, Fairness and Sanctity.