Wang Jiaqian, Touré-Tillery Maferima
Department of Marketing, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore.
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
J Exp Psychol Gen. 2024 Dec;153(12):3143-3160. doi: 10.1037/xge0001654. Epub 2024 Oct 10.
This research examines the effect of self-concept clarity (i.e., having self-beliefs that are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and stable) on moral behavior. Seven preregistered studies ( = 3,373) document that low (vs. high) self-concept clarity decreases moral behavior (e.g., donation, volunteering, tax compliance, honesty in an incentivized game). This effect occurs because low self-concept clarity increases moral disengagement, leading people to behave in morally questionable manners without damaging their self-concept. As evidence for this proposed underlying mechanism, we show that the effect of self-concept clarity on moral behavior is mediated by state moral disengagement and attenuates (a) among people with low trait moral disengagement, (b) among people with high trait moral identity internalization, and (c) in the presence of an honor pledge cueing moral engagement. We then show that the effect holds only when a prosocial act is congruent with personal values. Overall, these findings contribute to the literature on self-concept and moral self-regulation and have implications for how to promote morality and curb unethical behavior in society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
本研究考察了自我概念清晰度（即拥有清晰且自信地定义、内在一致且稳定的自我信念）对道德行为的影响。七项预先注册的研究（N = 3373）表明，低（相对于高）自我概念清晰度会降低道德行为（例如捐赠、志愿服务、纳税合规、在激励游戏中的诚实表现）。这种影响的发生是因为低自我概念清晰度会增加道德推脱，导致人们以道德上有问题的方式行事而不损害其自我概念。作为这一提出的潜在机制的证据，我们表明自我概念清晰度对道德行为的影响是由状态性道德推脱介导的，并且在以下情况下会减弱：（a）在特质性道德推脱较低的人群中；（b）在特质性道德认同内化较高的人群中；（c）在存在提示道德参与的荣誉承诺的情况下。然后我们表明，只有当亲社会行为与个人价值观一致时，这种影响才成立。总体而言，这些发现为自我概念和道德自我调节的文献做出了贡献，并对如何在社会中促进道德和遏制不道德行为具有启示意义。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2024美国心理学会，保留所有权利）
