This presentation provides an overview of an integrated theoretical model firmly rooted in a gene-culture coevolutionary framework, which addresses empathy, moral intuitions, and moral emotions such as anticipated anger and guilt as solutions to moral commitment problems—commonly understood as failures to cooperate. Building on previous research, we examine the relationships between three key commitment problems—stealing, breaking promises, and punishing free riders—and moral intuitions, moral emotions, and moral judgments (i.e. judgments about the wrongness of rule-breaking). Rule violations and punishment decisions can be interpreted as (conditional or alternative) behavioral strategies. In line with the work of Frank, Tomasello, de Waal, and Haidt, we propose that moral intuitions and emotions function as moral commitment devices that promote social cohesion within groups. This study emphasizes the role of proximate mechanisms, including empathy, altruistic preferences, anticipated guilt, and moral indignation, in explaining individual differences in moral judgments and intentions related to stealing, punishing free riders, and breaking promises. Our results are based on a large-scale survey of Flemish young adults (N = 1496). The implications of these findings and directions for future research will be discussed. References Al-Shawaf, L., & Shackelford, T. K. (2024). The Oxford handbook of evolution and the emotions. Oxford University Press. Alexander, R.D. (1987). The biology of moral systems. Routledge. Davis, K.L., Panksepp J. (2018). The emotional foundations of personality. A neurobiological and evolutionary approach. W.W.Norton. De Buck, A., & Pauwels, L.J.R. (2022). Explaining judgments on rule violations. On empathy, moral intuitions, and emotions. Springer Nature. De Buck, A., & Pauwels, L.J.R. (forthcoming 2025). Breaking shared norms, the moral commitment problem, and moral emotions. An evolutionary analysis. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. De Waal, F.B.M. (2009). The age of empathy. Nature’s lessons for a kinder society. Three Rivers Press. Frank, R. (1988). Passions within reason. The strategic role of the emotions. W.W. Norton & Company. Greene, J. D. (2013). Moral tribes: emotion, reason, and the gap between us and them. Penguin. Haidt, J. (2012). The righteous mind: Why good people are divided by politics and religion. Vintage. Nesse, R.M. (Ed.) (2001). Evolution and the capacity for commitment. Russell Sage Foundation. Nesse, R. M. (2000). How selfish genes shape moral passions. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 7(1-2), 227-231. Trivers, R. (2011). The Folly of Fools. The logic of deceit and self-deception in human life. Basic Books. Tomasello, M. (2016). A natural history of human morality. Harvard University Press. Tomasello, M. (2019). Becoming human: A theory of ontogeny. Harvard University Press.