Who are you calling rude? Honor-related differences in morality and competence evaluations after an insult.

In two studies, we examined honor-related differences in morality versus competence evaluations as a way to tap into social judgment formation after an insult. In Study 1, we distinguished between high-honor and low-honor cultures. Participants' evaluations of a norm transgressor were gathered. Results indicated that high-honor participants devalued the transgressor more strongly in terms of morality than competence in comparison with low-honor participants. In Study 2, we distinguished between participants with high- and low-honor values and investigated morality and competence in self-perception. Participants were asked to respond to different types of insults gathered in Study 1. High-honor participants were primarily harmed in their morality after being insulted, while this prominence was less apparent in low-honor participants. Both studies showed that those who value honor highly moralize insults to a greater extent, because they take more offense to them. © 2014 International Association for Conflict Management and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.