In 2017, University of London psychologists Ben Tappin and Ryan McKay asked 270 subjects to evaluate both themselves and the average person as to traits describing morality (honest, trustworthy, fair), agency (hardworking, knowledgeable, competent), and sociability (cooperative, warm, family-orientated).

They found that nearly all the subjects inflated their own desirable moral qualities irrationally. The more desirable a moral trait appeared to the subjects, the more likely they were to ascribe it to themselves.

“The belief that one is morally superior to the average person appears robust and widespread,” they wrote. “We find that moral superiority represents a uniquely strong and prevalent instance of ‘positive illusion.'”

(Ben M. Tappin and Ryan T. McKay, “The Illusion of Moral Superiority,” Social Psychological and Personality Science 8:6 [August 2017], 623-631.)