Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Moral Traps: When Self-serving Attributions Backfire in Prosocial Behavior

By: Stephanie C. Lin, Julian Zlatev and Dale T. Miller
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Two assumptions guide the current research. First, people's desire to see themselves as moral disposes them to make attributions that enhance or protect their moral self-image: When approached with a prosocial request, people are inclined to attribute their own noncompliance to external factors, while attributing their own compliance to internal factors. Second, these attributions can backfire when put to a material test. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that people who attribute their refusal of a prosocial request to an external factor (e.g., having an appointment), but then have that excuse removed, are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior than those who were never given an excuse to begin with. Study 3 shows that people view it as more morally reprehensible to no longer honor the acceptance of a prosocial request if an accompanying external incentive is removed than to refuse a request unaccompanied by an external incentive. Study 4 extends this finding and suggests that people who attribute the decision to behave prosocially to an internal factor despite the presence of an external incentive are more likely to continue to behave prosocially once the external incentive is removed than are those for whom no external incentive was ever offered. This research contributes to an understanding of the dynamics underlying the perpetuation of moral self-regard and suggests interventions to increase prosocial behavior.

Keywords

Morality; Attributions; Decision Making; Prosocial Behavior; Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Perception

Citation

Lin, Stephanie C., Julian Zlatev, and Dale T. Miller. "Moral Traps: When Self-serving Attributions Backfire in Prosocial Behavior." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 70 (May 2017): 198–203.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Julian J. Zlatev

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Río Curicó Teaching Note: Video Short I

    By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Julian Zlatev
    • February 2023
    • Faculty Research

    SIMmersion: Simulating Crucial Conversations

    By: Alison Wood Brooks and Julian Zlatev
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Sending Signals: Strategic Displays of Warmth and Competence

    By: Bushra S. Guenoun and Julian J. Zlatev
More from the Authors
  • Río Curicó Teaching Note: Video Short I By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Julian Zlatev
  • SIMmersion: Simulating Crucial Conversations By: Alison Wood Brooks and Julian Zlatev
  • Sending Signals: Strategic Displays of Warmth and Competence By: Bushra S. Guenoun and Julian J. Zlatev
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College