I'm OK, So It's OK

Who buys more junk food at the grocery store - those who use the store's plastic bags or those who bring reusable bags?  It seems obvious that those who care about the environment would also be more conscious about the food they eat..  But what's "clear" is not always correct. Research shows that reusable-bag people, on average, buy more junk food.  The reason: when we do something that tells us we've been good, we give ourselves permission to stray.    In psychology, this is called moral license.   It also helps explain why someone on a strict diet decides to have a piece of cheesecake and why you see so many SUVs at Whole Foods.   

Even thinking about doing something good can have this effect.  One marketing study asked people to just imagine doing a virtuous act and found they were more likely to buy designer jeans than a vacuum cleaner.

These examples are trivial, to be sure.  But moral license can be pernicious. In an experiment where people were first induced to feel virtuous, they were more likely to lie in support of a political issue they cared about.  In another study, some who endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008 were more likely to express views that disadvantaged African Americans in favor of whites. Feeling virtuous themselves, such as through regular church attendance, some people may have less trouble acting in ways that violate those religious values. 

It's not just ourselves we excuse for acting against our professed values.  We also forgive those who we think have accumulated "moral capital."  In one study, people were more willing to forgive a person's sexual harassment of another if that person was also known to fight adolescent drug abuse.  Feeling a leader is doing morally good things, we may excuse his or her mistreatment of others.

Curtailing moral licensing is not easy, but it is possible.  In one intriguing experiment, some subjects were asked to write a story using neutral words (e.g. book, keys, house).  Another group was asked to use negative traits (e.g. disloyal, greedy, mean), and a third group was asked to use positive traits (e.g. caring, generous, fair).  Then, participants were asked if they wanted to give some of their $10 payment to charity.  Those who used positive words gave less than half of those who used neutral words (more licensing at work).  But those who wrote a story using negative words gave nearly twice as much as the "neutral" group.  The researchers' conclusion: those primed with negative words wanted to cleanse themselves by giving more.

Recall that Lady Macbeth washed her hands after the murder of Duncan and later cried "out, out damned spot!"  She defines this notion of "moral cleansing."  When we've done something we come to regret, we seek ways to restore our self-image. 

But we can't count on this happening.  Most often,  by definition, we're unaware we're licensing our behavior.  Yet, when we are - or can be made aware - we are more likely to avoid it or correct ourselves after the fact.  One technique used with people on diets is to ask them to keep a food and activity diary, so they can see in what situations they are more likely to act against their own values, such as eating a Big Mac with a diet soda.

Another strategy is to prime people to recall their moral values before they act. The new IRS Form 1040 asks us to sign on the first page,  not at the end, as on the old form.  Psychologist Dan Ariely suggested this years ago. His rationale: this reminder to be honest may diminish morally licensing behavior, since being a good person has most likely prompted more than one American to be less than fully honest on their taxes. 

Using a "Ulysses Contract" is another tactic.  In the epic Greek poem, The Odyssey, Ulysses orders his men to tie him to the mast so he will not steer their ship onto the rocks when he cannot resist the Sirens' song.  A "Ulysses Contract" is an agreement we make in which we ask someone else to hold us to a commitment we believe in but realize we may violate, under the pressure of events and our emotions.

The moral philosopher Immanuel Kant reminded us years ago that “[O]ut of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.” We are not and can never be morally perfect. But we can be good people - even better people - if we know where we are likely to err.

Photo Credit: Carol Donsky Newell