biostudies-literatureAlcala VNational Science Foundation211152https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8790362biostudies-literatureUnknown9(1)Newman and Cain (Newman, Cain 2014 <i>Psychol. Sci.</i> <b>25</b>, 648-655 (doi:10.1177/0956797613504785)) reported that observers view a person's choices as less ethical when that person has acted in response to both altruistic and selfish (commercial) motivations, as compared with purely selfish interests. The altruistic component reduces the observers' approval rather than raising it. This puzzling phenomenon termed the 'tainted altruism' effect, has attracted considerable interest but no direct replications in prior research. We report direct replications of Newman and Cain's Experiments 2 and 3, using a larger sample (<i>n</i> = 501) intended to be fairly representative of the US population. The results confirm the original findings in considerable detail.Royal Society open scienceThe tainted altruism effect: a successful pre-registered replication.PMC8790362N00014-10-1-0072Wu JPashler HAlcala VJohnson KSteele CZhang DfalseThe tainted altruism effect: a successful pre-registered replication.Newman and Cain (Newman, Cain 2014 <i>Psychol. Sci.</i> <b>25</b>, 648-655 (doi:10.1177/0956797613504785)) reported that observers view a person's choices as less ethical when that person has acted in response to both altruistic and selfish (commercial) motivations, as compared with purely selfish interests. The altruistic component reduces the observers' approval rather than raising it. This puzzling phenomenon termed the 'tainted altruism' effect, has attracted considerable interest but no direct replications in prior research. We report direct replications of Newman and Cain's Experiments 2 and 3, using a larger sample (<i>n</i> = 501) intended to be fairly representative of the US population. The results confirm the original findings in considerable detail.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Jan2026-07-16T14:23:36.655Z2026-07-09T11:04:13.794ZS-EPMC87903623511614710.1098/rsos.211152