Paragons of Character – Character Strengths and Well-Being of Moral, Creative, and Religious Exemplars

Abstract

Which traits best describe individuals who are recognized as exemplary in different domains? And can self-rated positively valued personality traits distinguish such individuals from the general population? In the present study, we examined 204 outstanding individuals – exemplars who received or were nominated for a public award recognizing their exemplary behavior (e.g., a Carnegie Rescuers Award; n = 119), individuals holding a patent (n = 62), and individuals living in a religious order (n = 23). We compared these exemplars to a total of n = 2,040 comparison individuals matched based on demographic variables (10 controls per exemplar). All participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing character strengths and well-being (e.g., satisfaction with life). Results showed that the three groups of exemplars differed meaningfully in their character strengths and their well-being from the matched comparison groups. In addition to the strengths related to the virtues of courage, humanity, and justice (moral exemplars), and the character strengths of creativity (creative exemplars), gratitude and spirituality (religious exemplars), exemplars tended to score higher on humility. Overall, our findings suggest that character strengths are a useful framework for studying exemplary behavior.