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Dawson AJ, Williams S, Wilson AE. A Tale of Two Tweets: What Factors Predict Forgiveness of Past Transgressions on Social Media? PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023:1461672231214629. [PMID: 38084428 DOI: 10.1177/01461672231214629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
As more of our lives take place online, it is increasingly common for public figures to have their current image tarnished by their mistakes and transgressions in what is often the distant past. Three experiments (N = 2,296) found that judgments of a public figure who tweeted racist statements in the past were less harsh when more time had passed and when the public figure was younger at the time of the tweet. However, politics also played a powerful role. Independent of time and age, liberals allowed less possibility of redemption for anti-Black tweets, while conservatives were less forgiving for anti-White tweets. Such partisan differences extended not only to moral judgments of the individual, but also general moral principles and participants' subjective perceptions of the situation itself, including subjective temporal distance from the tweet, the subjective age of the public figure, and the current relevance of the past statements.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anne E Wilson
- Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
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He P, Wang J, Zhou H, Liu Q, Zada M. How and When Perpetrators Reflect on and Respond to Their Workplace Ostracism Behavior: A Moral Cleansing Lens. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2023; 16:683-700. [PMID: 36926414 PMCID: PMC10012908 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s396921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose This study investigates the association between the previous workplace ostracism of employees and their subsequent helping behavior by drawing on moral cleansing theory in the Chinese context, exploring the mediating roles of employees' guilt and perceived loss of moral credit and the moderating role of their moral identity symbolization. Sample and Method The data were collected from a two-stage time-lagged survey of 284 Chinese employees. Regression analysis and the bootstrapping method are used in this article to examine the theoretical hypotheses. Results The results indicate that employees' previous ostracism behaviors positively affected their guilt experience and perceived loss of moral credit. Subsequently, the relationship between employees' workplace ostracism and their helping behavior is mediated by guilt experience and perceived loss of moral credit. Furthermore, moral identity symbolization positively moderated the indirect "workplace ostracism-helping behavior" linkage via guilt and perceived loss of moral credits; in other words, for employees who have a higher degree of moral identity symbolization, the mediating effect is more significant, and vice versa. Conclusion This study does not merely clarify the theoretical relationship between perpetrators' workplace ostracism and their helping behavior, which enriches the explanatory logic of related research on workplace ostracism and the cause of helping behavior, but also expand the application scope of moral cleansing theory. Further, we aim practically to bring enlightenment to human resource management reform, corporate culture construction, and positive behavior management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peixu He
- Business School, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, 362021, People's Republic of China
| | - Jun Wang
- Business School, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, 362021, People's Republic of China
| | - Hanhui Zhou
- Business School, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, 362021, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiyuan Liu
- Business School, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, 362021, People's Republic of China
| | - Muhammad Zada
- Facultad de Administración y Negocios, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago, 8320000, Chile.,Department of Management Science and Commerce, Alhamd Islamic University, Islamabad, 45400, Pakistan
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3
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When and why does prosocial rule-breaking behavior fall into dilemma? A moral balancing perspective. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03923-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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4
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Zhao M, Qu S. Research on the consequences of employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior: The moderating role of moral identity. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1068606. [PMID: 36619072 PMCID: PMC9813445 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1068606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction In recent years, employees' unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) has become a social hot issue. This behavior benefits their organization or colleagues while violating core social ethics. Numerous studies have predominately focused on identifying the antecedents and formation mechanisms of UPB. However, only a few studies have focused on the effects and outcomes of UPB. Moreover, guilt triggered by unethical behaviors can motivate individuals to adopt pro-social behaviors, but studies on the effects of UPB on pro-social behavior of actors are rather limited. Therefore, this study explores the underlying relationship between employees' UPB and their own pro-environmental behavior based on the conservation of resources theory. Methods Through collecting data (N = 319) from a Chinese online survey company in different time intervals, the theoretical model was tested by the application of Amos 27.0 and SPSS 25.0 for analysis of the data. The CFA, descriptive analysis, hierarchical regression were illustrated in the article. Results This study demonstrated that, through emotions of guilt, employees' UPB is negatively correlated with their own environmental protection act. While this relationship is being examined, moral identity plays this mediating role, which can moderate the indirect relationship between employees' UPB and their environmental behavior through guilt. Discussion The purpose of the research was to identify the influence mechanisms that contribute to employees' pro-organizational but unethical behavior. With guilt serving as the mediating variable and moral identity serving as the moderating variable, a research model built on the principle of the conservation of resources theory was constructed. This research examines the impact mechanism and boundary conditions of UPB on individual pro-environmental behaviors from the perspective of employees. This paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the report's results.
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Sörqvist P, MacCutcheon D, Holmgren M, Haga A, Västfjäll D. Moral spillover in carbon offset judgments. Front Psychol 2022; 13:957252. [PMID: 36312167 PMCID: PMC9608638 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.957252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Moral spillover occurs when a morally loaded behavior becomes associated with another source. In the current paper, we addressed whether the moral motive behind causing CO2 emissions spills over on to how much people think is needed to compensate for the emissions. Reforestation (planting trees) is a common carbon-offset technique. With this in mind, participants estimated the number of trees needed to compensate for the carbon emissions from vehicles that were traveling with various moral motives. Two experiments revealed that people think larger carbon offsets are needed to compensate for the emissions when the emissions are caused by traveling for immoral reasons, in comparison with when caused by traveling for moral reasons. Hence, moral motives influence people’s judgments of carbon-offset requirements even though these motives have no bearing on what is compensated for. Moreover, the effect was insensitive to individual differences in carbon literacy and gender and to the unit (kilograms or tons) in which the CO2 emissions were expressed to the participants. The findings stress the role of emotion in how people perceive carbon offsetting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrik Sörqvist
- Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden
- *Correspondence: Patrik Sörqvist,
| | - Douglas MacCutcheon
- Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden
| | - Mattias Holmgren
- Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden
| | - Andreas Haga
- Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden
| | - Daniel Västfjäll
- Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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Scattolin M, Panasiti MS, Aglioti SM. Morality in the flesh: on the link between bodily self-consciousness, moral identity and (dis)honest behaviour. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220061. [PMID: 36061520 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6158554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The sense of owning a body (ownership) and controlling its actions (agency) are two main pillars of bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Although studies suggest that BSC signals and morality may be associated, whether such association has a positive or negative direction remains unclear. To investigate this issue, we conducted two pre-registered, online studies, in which a total of 1309 participants completed BSC- and morality-related questionnaires and undertook a task where they could cheat for monetary gain. We found that participants with high sense of ownership displayed high moral identity, which supports the notion that ownership is used to associate the self with positive characteristics. Moreover, high agency was associated with increased moral identity when sense of power is high. Results regarding deception are less clear, and might relate to the impact of COVID-19. Our results concerning moral identity may inspire policies that rely on changes of corporeal awareness to contrast immorality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Scattolin
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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Scattolin M, Panasiti MS, Aglioti SM. Morality in the flesh: on the link between bodily self-consciousness, moral identity and (dis)honest behaviour. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220061. [PMID: 36061520 PMCID: PMC9428530 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
The sense of owning a body (ownership) and controlling its actions (agency) are two main pillars of bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Although studies suggest that BSC signals and morality may be associated, whether such association has a positive or negative direction remains unclear. To investigate this issue, we conducted two pre-registered, online studies, in which a total of 1309 participants completed BSC- and morality-related questionnaires and undertook a task where they could cheat for monetary gain. We found that participants with high sense of ownership displayed high moral identity, which supports the notion that ownership is used to associate the self with positive characteristics. Moreover, high agency was associated with increased moral identity when sense of power is high. Results regarding deception are less clear, and might relate to the impact of COVID-19. Our results concerning moral identity may inspire policies that rely on changes of corporeal awareness to contrast immorality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Scattolin
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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8
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Scattolin M, Panasiti MS, Aglioti SM. Morality in the flesh: on the link between bodily self-consciousness, moral identity and (dis)honest behaviour. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220061. [PMID: 36061520 DOI: 10.17632/84tz3jkhr3.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The sense of owning a body (ownership) and controlling its actions (agency) are two main pillars of bodily self-consciousness (BSC). Although studies suggest that BSC signals and morality may be associated, whether such association has a positive or negative direction remains unclear. To investigate this issue, we conducted two pre-registered, online studies, in which a total of 1309 participants completed BSC- and morality-related questionnaires and undertook a task where they could cheat for monetary gain. We found that participants with high sense of ownership displayed high moral identity, which supports the notion that ownership is used to associate the self with positive characteristics. Moreover, high agency was associated with increased moral identity when sense of power is high. Results regarding deception are less clear, and might relate to the impact of COVID-19. Our results concerning moral identity may inspire policies that rely on changes of corporeal awareness to contrast immorality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Scattolin
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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Lee SWS, Millet K, Grinstein A, Pauwels KH, Johnston PR, Volkov AE, van der Wal AJ. Actual Cleaning and Simulated Cleaning Attenuate Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stressful Events. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/19485506221099428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The human mind harbors various mechanisms for coping with stress, but what role does physical behavior play? Inspired by ethological observations of autogrooming activity across species, we offer a general hypothesis: cleaning attenuates effects of stressful events. Preregistered behavioral and psychophysiological experiments ( N = 3,066 in United Kingdom, United States, and Canada) found that (a) concrete visual simulation of cleaning behavior alleviated residual anxiety from a stress-inducing physical scene, an effect distinct from touch, and (b) actual cleaning behavior enhanced adaptive cardiovascular reactivity to a highly stressful context of social performance/evaluation, which provides the first physiological evidence for the attenuation of stress-related effects by cleaning. Overall, actual cleaning and simulated cleaning attenuate effects of physical or psychological stressors, even when they have nothing to do with contamination or disease and would not be resolved by cleaning. Daily cleaning behavior may facilitate coping with stressors like physical risks and psychological threats to the self.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kobe Millet
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Amir Grinstein
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Phillip R. Johnston
- University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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10
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Scattolin M, Panasiti MS, Villa R, Aglioti SM. Reduced ownership over a virtual body modulates dishonesty. iScience 2022; 25:104320. [PMID: 35602961 PMCID: PMC9118670 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Although studies suggest that even higher-order functions can be embodied, whether body awareness may bias moral decisions toward (dis)honesty remains underinvestigated. Here, we tested if the Sense of body Ownership (SoO) and the magnitude of monetary rewards influence the tendency to act immorally. Through a virtual body, participants played a card game in which they could lie to others to steal high or low amounts of money. To manipulate SoO, the virtual body was seen and controlled from a first-person perspective, with hands attached or detached, or from a third-person perspective. In third-person perspective, SoO was significantly reduced and more egoistic lies were produced in high reward conditions. Thus, SoO reduction and high monetary reward facilitate dishonest behavior, likely by separating the self from the dishonest actions performed through the disowned body. Because most future interactions will likely occur in a digital metaverse, our results may have crucial societal impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Scattolin
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome (RM) 00161, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome (RM) 00179, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome (RM) 00185, Italy
| | - Riccardo Villa
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome (RM) 00161, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Sapienza University of Rome and CLNS@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome (RM) 00161, Italy
- Santa Lucia Foundation, IRCCS, Rome (RM) 00179, Italy
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11
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Ji H, Yan J. Why does counterproductive work behavior lead to pro-social rule breaking? The roles of impression management motives and leader-liking. ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10490-022-09818-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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12
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Frechen N, Brouwer S. Wait, did I do that? Effects of previous decisions on moral decision‐making. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Frechen
- Centre for Language Studies Radboud University Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Susanne Brouwer
- Centre for Language Studies Radboud University Nijmegen The Netherlands
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13
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Spoiled Apples: A Letter to White Scholars Eager to “Adopt” Black Scholars. JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INQUIRY 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/10564926211052212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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14
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Lungeanu R, Weber K. Social Responsibility Beyond the Corporate: Executive Mental Accounting Across Sectoral and Issue Domains. ORGANIZATION SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2021.1438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Business elites influence the allocation of resources to a range of causes related to the social good, such as to corporate community or environmental programs. We extend research on executive influence on corporate attention to alternative causes by showing how chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) engagement in two distinct institutional domains, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and independent foundation philanthropy, are interrelated. We draw on the psychology of moral accounting to refine the assumption of personal consistency prevalent in studies of executives’ corporate influence. Specifically, we show that executives use flexible means to realize an overall aspiration of doing good, resulting in divergent emphases in their CSR and philanthropic causes. Evidence comes from a panel of 677 corporations linked to 309 foundations through 1,109 CEOs during the period 2003–2011. CEOs compensated for deficits in their firms’ CSR record by joining the board of trustees of specific nonprofit foundations, but subsequently advanced divergent cause priorities in the corporation and the foundation. Our work suggests that studies of CSR and of executive influence on organizations benefit from taking into account executives’ cross-domain engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Razvan Lungeanu
- D’Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Klaus Weber
- Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208
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Maftei A, Holman AC. Children’s altruism after recalling recent and distant morally-valenced behavior and the mediating role of guilt. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01872-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Lee SWS. “Social Priming” Through the Lens of Sociology of Science: Fuzzy Boundary, Personal Experience, and Broader Atmosphere. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2021.1889842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Spike W. S. Lee
- Rotman School of Management and Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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From washing hands to washing consciences and polishing reputations. Behav Brain Sci 2021; 44:e15. [PMID: 33599589 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x20000527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
While Lee and Schwarz propose grounded procedures of separation as an explanation for physical cleansing in various domains (e.g., washing one's hands), we suggest that separation can also account for behavioral cleansing aimed at washing consciences and polishing reputations. We discuss this extension in terms of degrees of behavioral cleansing, motivations, and intentions behind cleansing, and social settings.
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Feeling proud but guilty? Unpacking the paradoxical nature of unethical pro-organizational behavior. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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20
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Grounded procedures: A proximate mechanism for the psychology of cleansing and other physical actions. Behav Brain Sci 2020; 44:e1. [PMID: 32390575 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x20000308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Experimental work has revealed causal links between physical cleansing and various psychological variables. Empirically, how robust are they? Theoretically, how do they operate? Major prevailing accounts focus on morality or disgust, capturing a subset of cleansing effects, but cannot easily handle cleansing effects in non-moral, non-disgusting contexts. Building on grounded views on cognitive processes and known properties of mental procedures, we propose grounded procedures of separation as a proximate mechanism underlying cleansing effects. This account differs from prevailing accounts in terms of explanatory kind, interpretive parsimony, and predictive scope. Its unique and falsifiable predictions have received empirical support: Cleansing attenuates or eliminates otherwise observed influences of prior events (1) across domains and (2) across valences. (3) Cleansing manipulations produce stronger effects the more strongly they engage sensorimotor capacities. (4) Reversing the causal arrow, motivation for cleansing is triggered more readily by negative than positive entities. (5) Conceptually similar effects extend to other physical actions of separation. On the flipside, grounded procedures of connection are also observed. Together, separation and connection organize prior findings relevant to multiple perspectives (e.g., conceptual metaphor, sympathetic magic) and open up new questions. Their predictions are more generalizable than the specific mappings in conceptual metaphors, but more fine-grained than the broad assumptions of grounded cognition. This intermediate level of analysis sheds light on the interplay between mental and physical processes.
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Schei TS, Sheikh S, Schnall S. Atoning Past Indulgences: Oral Consumption and Moral Compensation. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2103. [PMID: 31572277 PMCID: PMC6753500 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that moral failures increase compensatory behaviors, such as prosociality and even self-punishment, because they are strategies to re-establish one's positive moral self-image. Do similar compensatory behaviors result from violations in normative eating practices? Three experiments explored the moral consequences of recalling instances of perceived excessive food consumption. In Experiment 1 we showed that women recalling an overeating (vs. neutral) experience reported more guilt and a desire to engage in prosocial behavior in the form of so-called self-sacrificing. In Experimental 2 this logic was applied to actual spontaneous helping behaviors toward an experimenter, with participants who recalled an overeating (vs. neutral) experience exhibiting more such helping in the laboratory. Experimental 3 expanded the investigation to self-inflicted pain: overeating (vs. neutral) recall led to higher levels of self-punishment as indicted by longer time periods spent engaging in the cold pressor task. In sum, failures in normative food consumption can be viewed as moral transgressions that elicits both interpersonal and intrapersonal compensatory behaviors aimed at restoring a positive moral self-image.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thea S. Schei
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sana Sheikh
- Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Simone Schnall
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Krpan D, Galizzi MM, Dolan P. Looking at Spillovers in the Mirror: Making a Case for "Behavioral Spillunders". Front Psychol 2019; 10:1142. [PMID: 31156523 PMCID: PMC6532417 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral spillovers refer to the influence that a given intervention targeting behavior 1 exerts on a subsequent, non-targeted, behavior 2, which may or may not be in the same domain (health, finance, etc.) as one another. So, a nudge to exercise more, for example, could lead people to eat more or less, or possibly even to give more or less to charity depending on the nature of the spillover. But what if spillovers also operate backward; that is, if the expectation of behavior 1 influences behavior 0 that precedes it? For example, a person may form an intention to exercise prompted by a policy intervention but overeat at present as a result. We define such a possibility as a "spillunder." In the proposed article, we critically review the few papers that we have identified through a narrative literature review which have demonstrated spillunder effects to date, and we propose a conceptual framework. Based on evidence about the human mind and behavior from psychology and economics, we argue that spillunder effects may be more common than the limited empirical findings suggest. We propose six representative mechanisms through which the prospect of behavior 1 may impact behavior 0: executive functions, moral licensing and moral cleansing, emotion regulation, energization, construal level, and savoring and dread. We further discuss the policy and practical implications of spillunder effects and examine methodological issues that need to be considered when empirically testing these effects. As with our earlier paper on spillovers, we aim to motivate other behavioral scientists to research behavioral spillunders more systematically and extensively, and to prompt decision makers to consider these effects when designing behavioral interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Krpan
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, United Kingdom
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Poon KT. Do You Reap What You Sow? The Effect of Cyberostracism on Moral Impurity. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2019.1585353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Gilchrist PT, Schnall S. The paradox of moral cleansing: When physical cleansing leads to increased contamination concerns. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2018; 61:38-44. [PMID: 29906689 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Moral threats, including threats to moral self-worth, have been associated with contamination concerns. Paradoxically, although self-cleansing provides temporary relief, it can worsen feelings of contamination. Self-affirmation might be an effective strategy, especially following obsessive type cognitions (e.g., responsibility beliefs) when moral threats are reactivated. METHODS In Experiment 1, participants recalled an immoral deed and then self-cleansed (using a hand-wipe), completed a control task, or self-affirmed. Contamination concerns were subsequently measured by a washing task. In Experiment 2, the same procedure was used but obsessive-type cognitions were activated by asking participants a series of questions about obsessive beliefs. RESULTS As expected, relative to the control condition, both self-affirmation and self-cleansing resulted in less subsequent repeated washing behaviour in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, when the immoral recall was followed by activation of obsessive-type cognitions, self-cleansing led to more guilt and repeated washing than self-affirmation and control. Rather than alleviating feelings of contamination, physical self-cleansing led to more contamination concerns and guilt when in the context of activated obsessive-type cognitions, possibly because it paradoxically makes (moral) cleanliness goals salient. LIMITATIONS Future research needs to test clinical populations, for whom contamination concerns are all the more central. CONCLUSIONS This research provides further evidence of the influence of moral threat in contamination concerns, and the limits of moral cleansing. Self-affirmation resulted in less contamination concerns under both a neutral condition and activated obsessive type cognitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe T Gilchrist
- Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9BB, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
| | - Simone Schnall
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK.
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Niesten IJM, Müller W, Merckelbach H, Dandachi-FitzGerald B, Jelicic M. Moral Reminders Do Not Reduce Symptom Over-Reporting Tendencies. PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURY & LAW 2017; 10:368-384. [PMID: 29299087 PMCID: PMC5740206 DOI: 10.1007/s12207-017-9303-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Accepted: 10/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Is presenting patients with moral reminders prior to psychological testing a fruitful deterrence strategy for symptom over-reporting? We addressed this question in three ways. In study 1, we presented individuals seeking treatment for ADHD complaints (n = 24) with moral primes using the Mother Teresa Questionnaire and compared their scores on an index of symptom over-reporting (i.e., the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology, SIMS) with those of unprimed patient controls (n = 27). Moral primes slightly decreased SIMS scores, but the effect was not significant. In study 2, we took a different approach to activate moral categories: we recruited individuals seeking treatment for ADHD complaints and asked some of them to sign a moral contract (i.e., prime; n = 19) declaring that they would complete the tests in an honest way and compared their scores on the SIMS and standard clinical scales measuring self-reported psychopathology with those of unprimed patient controls (n = 17). Again, we found no convincing evidence that moral cues suppress symptom over-reporting. In study 3, we gave individuals from the general population (N = 132) positive, negative, or neutral moral primes and implicitly induced them to feign symptoms, after which they completed a brief validated version of the SIMS and an adapted version of the b Test (i.e., an underperformance measure). Again, primes did not affect over-reporting tendencies. Taken together, our findings illustrate that moral reminders are not going to be useful in clinical practice. Rather, they point towards the importance of studying contextual and individual difference factors that guide moral decision-making in patients and may be modified to discourage symptom over-reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabella J. M. Niesten
- Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Wenke Müller
- Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Harald Merckelbach
- Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Brechje Dandachi-FitzGerald
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Marko Jelicic
- Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Ding W, Xie R, Sun B, Li W, Wang D, Zhen R. Why Does the "Sinner" Act Prosocially? The Mediating Role of Guilt and the Moderating Role of Moral Identity in Motivating Moral Cleansing. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1317. [PMID: 27660617 PMCID: PMC5014871 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2015] [Accepted: 08/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies have found that people tend to commit prosocial acts subsequent to previous immoral acts, as a response to the latter. This phenomenon is called moral cleansing or moral compensation. However, the specific mechanism how previous immoral acts motivate moral compensatory behaviors is still not fully understood. This study aimed to examine the roles of guilt and moral identity in the relation between previous immoral acts and subsequent prosocial behaviors to clarify the mechanism. Based on the extant research, the current study proposed a moderated mediation model to illustrate the process of moral cleansing. Specifically, a previous immoral act motivates guilt, which further leads to subsequent prosocial behaviors, while moral identity facilitates this process. The participants were primed by a recalling task (immoral act vs. a neutral event). The results support the hypothesized model and provide a framework that explains moral cleansing by integrating the roles of guilt and moral identity. These findings highlight the dynamic nature of people's morality with regard to how people adapt moral behaviors to protect their moral self-image.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wan Ding
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China; College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal UniversityJinhua, China
| | - Ruibo Xie
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University Beijing, China
| | - Binghai Sun
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University Jinhua, China
| | - Weijian Li
- College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University Jinhua, China
| | - Duo Wang
- School of Social Science, Policy and Evaluation, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont CA, USA
| | - Rui Zhen
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University Beijing, China
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