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  • April 2015
  • Article
  • Current Directions in Psychological Science

Self-serving Justifications: Doing Wrong and Feeling Moral

By: Shaul Shalvi, F. Gino, Rachel Barkan and Shahar Ayal
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Abstract

Unethical behavior by "ordinary" people poses significant societal and personal challenges. We present a novel framework centered on the role of self-serving justification to build upon and advance the rapidly expanding research on intentional unethical behavior of people who value their morality highly. We propose that self-serving justifications emerging before and after people engage in intentional ethical violations mitigate the threat to the moral self, enabling them to do wrong while feeling moral. Pre-violation justifications lessen the anticipated threat to the moral self by redefining questionable behaviors as excusable. Post-violation justifications alleviate the experienced threat to the moral self by compensations that balance or lessen violations. We highlight the psychological mechanisms that prompt people to do wrong and feel moral, and suggest future research directions regarding the temporal dimension of self-serving justifications of ethical misconduct.

Keywords

Motivation and Incentives; Moral Sensibility

Citation

Shalvi, Shaul, F. Gino, Rachel Barkan, and Shahar Ayal. "Self-serving Justifications: Doing Wrong and Feeling Moral." Current Directions in Psychological Science 24, no. 2 (April 2015): 125–130.
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About The Author

Francesca Gino

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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More from the Authors
  • You Need Two Leadership Gears: Know When to Take Charge and When to Get Out of the Way By: Lindy Greer, Francesca Gino and Robert Sutton
  • Authentic First Impressions Relate to Interpersonal, Social, and Entrepreneurial Success By: David M. Markowitz, Maryam Kouchaki, Francesca Gino, Jeffrey T. Hancock and Ryan L. Boyd
  • Mellody Hobson at Ariel Investments By: Lakshmi Ramarajan and Francesca Gino
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