Military veterans are morally typecast as agentic but unfeeling: Implications for veteran employment

What kind of “mind” do people assume those in the military have? This question has important implications for military veterans and provides an opportunity to test moral typecasting as a critical element of the theory of dyadic morality (TDM: Gray & Wegner, 2009; 2011; Schein & Gray, 2017). Based on this theory, moral agents – even those we admire, such as veterans – will be seen as more agentic (ability to plan and act) but have less capacity for experience (ability feel emotion). Leveraging previous theorizing on mind perception, dehumanization, and career typology, the current research shows that veterans are seen as having a higher capacity for agency but less capacity for experience. As a result, veterans are seen as less (more) suited for careers that require a high (low) capacity for experience. Results are found across laypeople, managers, and employees. Implications for veteran well-being are discussed.

Duke Scholars

Author Aaron Charles Kay Fuqua School of Business