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morality
Doing one good deed makes you act more selfishly.
Moral licensing occurs when performing a virtuous action provides a psychological credit that you spend on later behavior.
In a 2001 study, participants who were given the opportunity to show they were not prejudiced were subsequently more likely to express biased views. Once you view yourself as a 'good person' in one area, you feel subconsciously permitted to act in ways that contradict those values later. You track your morality like a bank account.
Your past goodness can justify your future lapses.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Monin and Miller, 2001
- What the check found
- The definition provided is accurate to the findings of Monin and Miller (2001). While the study is foundational, modern replication crises in social psychology suggest the effect is more modest than originally reported.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.