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psychology
You are more likely to lie after doing something ethical.
Moral licensing is the subconscious process where performing a good deed makes you feel entitled to act in your own self-interest later.
A 2010 study found that participants who were given the opportunity to show their moral integrity were more likely to later cheat on a task to gain a reward. Your brain keeps a mental ledger of your goodness, and once you have 'earned' enough, it resets the rules.
Your past virtues are the easiest excuse for your current vices.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Mazar and Zhong, 2010
- What the check found
- The paper exists, the authors are correctly identified, and the study supports the premise of moral licensing. The verdict reflects the broader psychological consensus on the validity of the study's conclusions.
- 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.