Trait empathy predicts a preference for the spirit of the law: Nationally representative survey evidence

People often disagree about whether a rule’s text or its spirit should govern its application. To what extent is this disagreement explained by personality traits? In a pre-registered, nationally representative study (N = 385), by-participant regressions revealed that, for most participants, both text and purpose exert influence over rule application. Moreover, we found confirmatory evidence that more empathic participants were more likely to rely on purpose in their rule violation judgments. We also found exploratory associations between the personality dimensions of agreeableness and extraversion and one’s propensity to rely on text or purpose. In contrast, we found no correlation between rule-based decision-making style and differences in moral foundations and need for closure.