Loyalty can influence subjective perceptions of harm. Across three studies using participants’ personal experiences and experimental scenarios, we show that the more someone feels loyal to a person (e.g., friend or coworker), the more likely they perceive an adverse experience as causing the person harm and suffering. Rather than differences in cognitive limitations like poor memory recall or paying less attention to outgroup members, we find that this effect is driven by loyalists psychologically amplifying the perceived harm inflicted. Though loyalty is rooted in good intentions, we identify negative consequences of loyalty and harm perception in the workplace. Loyalists have greater expectations of a stranger to lie for their object of loyalty (e.g., friend vs. acquaintance) when the object has done something wrong, and they also evaluate the stranger’s moral character more negatively if the stranger tells the truth. However, when people are first asked to explain the importance of fairness, this effect attenuates. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for the psychology of loyalty, justice, and voice in the workplace.
