Unpleasant virtues? Compassion, patience, and self-control are associated with well-being in the moment and over the long-term

A philosophical tradition that spans cultures and historical periods posits that virtue is vitalto well-being. Yet, theories in mainstream moral psychology imply the opposite. In twopreregistered studies, we tested the hypothesis that virtue promotes well-being byfocusing on three “hard cases”—i.e., three seemingly unpleasant virtues. We examinedtheir associations with well-being in the moments in which they are exercised (Study 1: N= 10,679 observations, N = 229 US Muslim adolescents), and over two years (Study 2: N= 10,104 observations, N = 2,526 US young adults). We found positive within- andbetween-person associations at momentary, daily, and trait levels. And, when peoplebecome more compassionate, patient, and self-controlled, their well-being improves intandem. Thus, although causal inferences from observational data must be tentative, wefind consistent support for the theory that being good is a reliable route to being well.