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License to Sin: The Liberating Role of Reporting Expectations
Gavan J Fitzsimons1, Joseph C Nunes, Patti Williams
1Professor of marketing and psychology at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 ( gavan@duke.edu ).
The Journal of Consumer Research
|June 11, 2013
Summary
Asking about intentions for "vice behaviors" can increase their occurrence. However, reminding individuals of negative attitudes toward these actions can mitigate this effect, preventing a "license to sin."
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
- Attitude Research
Background:
- Individuals often exhibit conflicting attitudes towards "vice behaviors."
- These conflicting attitudes comprise negative explicit and positive implicit components.
- The impact of intention questions on behaviors with dual attitudes is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how intention questions influence "vice behaviors."
- To explore the moderating role of attitude awareness on this effect.
- To understand the psychological mechanisms behind intention-behavior relationships with conflicting attitudes.
Main Methods:
- Experimental design comparing groups asked intention questions versus a control group.
- Measurement of "vice behavior" rates post-questioning.
- Introduction of "defensive tools" to highlight negative explicit attitudes.
Main Results:
- Asking intention questions significantly increased "vice behavior" rates compared to the control group.
- This increase was attributed to a "license to sin" effect.
- Providing defensive tools successfully dampened the behavioral increase by emphasizing negative explicit attitudes.
Conclusions:
- Intention questions can inadvertently promote "vice behaviors" when conflicting attitudes are present.
- Awareness of negative explicit attitudes can serve as a protective factor against this effect.
- Future research should explore interventions to manage dual attitudes and related behaviors.
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