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Willpower as moral ability.

Phyliss Jia Gai1, Amit Bhattacharjee1

  • 1Department of Marketing.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|January 6, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Self-control success improves perceptions of moral character, while failure does not imply moral corruption. This suggests self-control is seen as a necessary ability for moral goodness, not badness.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Moral Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Self-control, the capacity to prioritize long-term benefits over immediate temptations, is often deemed morally irrelevant for personal choices.
  • This study investigates the perceived moral implications of self-control in non-affective domains.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how self-control success and failure influence evaluations of an individual's moral character.
  • To test the proposed "moral-ability hypothesis" regarding the link between self-control and morality.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted four focal and five supplemental experiments involving participants evaluating moral character based on self-control scenarios.
  • Utilized controlled experimental designs to isolate the effects of self-control success versus failure.

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Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that successful self-control in nonmoral contexts significantly enhances perceptions of moral character.
  • Found that self-control failure does not lead to negative moral character evaluations or perceptions of moral corruption.
  • Observed an asymmetry where success bolsters moral image, but failure does not diminish it.

Conclusions:

  • Self-control is perceived as a crucial ability for achieving moral goodness, aligning with the "moral-ability hypothesis."
  • The ability to exert self-control is considered a prerequisite for moral behavior, but its absence is not equated with moral deficiency.