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Hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral character judgments
Konrad Bocian1, Katarzyna Myslinska Szarek1, Katarzyna Miazek1
1Department of Psychology in Sopot, SWPS University.
The Journal of Social Psychology
|August 29, 2024
Summary
Self-interest bias influences moral judgments, especially when observers benefit. Hypocrisy moderates this bias, showing that observers’ interests impact judgments of hypocritical transgressors less than non-hypocritical ones.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Moral Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Self-interest bias leads observers to judge moral transgressions leniently when they benefit.
- Factors moderating self-interest bias remain an open empirical question.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extent to which hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral judgments.
- To explore the role of goal attainment and agreement to aid interests in this moderation.
Main Methods:
- Two preregistered studies (N=194, N=193) examined observers' interests and moral judgments of hypocritical transgressors.
- Further studies (N=713, N=634) investigated goal attainment and agreement to aid interests as explanations.
Main Results:
- Observers' interests impacted moral character judgments of hypocritical transgressors.
- Hypocrisy moderated the influence of observers' interests on moral judgments.
- This moderation was explained by observers' goal attainment and agreement to aid interests.
Conclusions:
- Observer interests bias moral judgments of hypocritical transgressors.
- The impact of self-interest bias is less pronounced when judging hypocritical versus non-hypocritical transgressors.
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