Moral perfectionism and online prosocial behavior: The mediating role of moral identity and the moderating role of online interpersonal trust

Abstract Recent studies have shown that moral perfectionism is related to moral judgments and moral values, which are predictors of prosocial behavior. However, few studies have focused on the relation between moral perfectionism and online prosocial behavior or the underlying mechanisms connecting the relation. The present study examined whether moral identity mediates the association between moral perfectionism and online prosocial behavior, and whether online interpersonal trust moderates the association between moral identity and online prosocial behavior. A sample of 790 university students (mean age = 20.10 years, SD = 1.64) from two universities participated in our study. Results showed that, after controlling for gender, Internet age, and daily online time use, moral identity partially mediated the association between moral perfectionism and online prosocial behavior. Moreover, online interpersonal trust moderated the association between moral identity and online prosocial behavior. Specifically, the association between moral identity and online prosocial behavior was significant for participants with high online interpersonal trust; however, it become nonsignificant for participants with low online interpersonal trust. Findings of the current study highlight the significance of identifying the mechanisms that moderate the mediating association between moral perfectionism and online prosocial behavior.