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Cited by 4Psychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentEthics in Business and EducationPhilosophical Ethics and Theory

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Moral contamination: Perceptions of good (but not bad) deeds depend on the ethical history of the actor

Open access
Protzko, John, Schooler, Jonathan W.·2023·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1025214PMC PMC9892465
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Abstract

In the majority of moral decision-making research, we are asked to consider the action of someone we know little about—an anonymous actor. This is inconsistent with our everyday judgments of the actions of others. Here we test the novel prediction of whether actions are considered as comparably virtuous or malignant when performed by a good person, an immoral person, or the standard anonymous actor. Across four sets of experiments (nine studies in total), we show that the moral status of the actor contaminates peoples’ evaluations of the virtue of their actions. Even without ulterior motives, people do not judge good acts consistently across actors. We also discover a dose–response relationship where the more immoral the actor has been in the past—the less credit they are given for a good action in the present. This process does not occur for good people performing bad acts, however. Bad acts are bad regardless of who commits them. These results give new insights into the way people evaluate the behaviors of others.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1025214

Cites

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Figures

FIGURE 1 Differences in the moral status of the same action, for the same reasons, performed by different people. Error bars represent 95%CI. (A) Shows results from the pilot study; (B) shows results from the replication.
FIGURE 1 Differences in the moral status of the same action, for the same reasons, performed by different people. Error bars represent 95%CI. (A) Shows results from the pilot study; (B) shows results from the replication.CC BY · PubMed Central
FIGURE 2 Moral contamination with ulterior motives. Error bars represent 95% CI.
FIGURE 2 Moral contamination with ulterior motives. Error bars represent 95% CI.CC BY · PubMed Central
FIGURE 3 Moral contamination for intentional and unintentional bad actions. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
FIGURE 3 Moral contamination for intentional and unintentional bad actions. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.CC BY · PubMed Central
FIGURE 4 Interaction of need for cognition with moral contamination.
FIGURE 4 Interaction of need for cognition with moral contamination.CC BY · PubMed Central
FIGURE 5 Likelihood of shoving a child who runs into someone again in the future. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals.
FIGURE 5 Likelihood of shoving a child who runs into someone again in the future. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals.CC BY · PubMed Central
FIGURE 6 Dose–response fitted lines of moral contamination.
FIGURE 6 Dose–response fitted lines of moral contamination.CC BY · PubMed Central
APPENDIX FIGURE 1 Hierarchy of bad behaviors with 95% CI.
APPENDIX FIGURE 1 Hierarchy of bad behaviors with 95% CI.CC BY · PubMed Central
APPENDIX FIGURE 2 Hierarchy of good behaviors with 95% CI.
APPENDIX FIGURE 2 Hierarchy of good behaviors with 95% CI.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Citations

Cites

Show all 60 references

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Gert, 2016, The definition of morality, The stanford encyclopedia of philosophy
  2. Glennie, 2011, Hugo chávez’s reverse-halo effect.
  3. Heighton, 2016, British army officer charged with sexual assault of Canadian soldier.

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Metadata

Authors
Protzko, J., & Schooler, J. W.
Affiliations
  • Central Connecticut State University (US)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
Corresponding author
Protzko, John
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2023-01-19
Volume
13
Pages
1025214-1025214
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1025214
PMC
PMC9892465
OpenAlex
W4317387829
Cited by
4
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 1
FWCI
0.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
John E. Fetzer Memorial Trust
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Ethics in Business and Education
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophical Ethics and Theory
Keywords
moral judgment, moral credit, moral blame, ethical decision-making, dose-response relationship

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