Research Article

Moral Hypocrisy: The Antecedents and Outcomes

Dian GuZhejiang University of Technology*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Moral hypocrisy refers to an act of having different moral standards for self and others (higher for others) and can also be manifested as showing good moral motives, but ultimately choosing to act more in one’s own interest. In real life, these people are called “hypocrites”. Starting from the literature of the past two decades, this article makes a systematic review of moral hypocrisy from the aspects of the definition, formation mechanism, influencing factors and consequences. Firstly, the concept, mechanism and manifestation of moral hypocrisy are discussed. Moreover, previous studies have found that the character of moral principles, emotions, individual traits, and cognitive components were the main influencing factors of moral hypocrisy. Moreover, moral hypocrisy also affects individuals’ moral judgement and social justice. The discussion and analysis of the antecedents and outcomes in this article offer some implications for further research and practice. More systematic and thorough research with ecological benefits needs to be conducted.

Keywords: moral hypocrisy; moral judgment; emotions; cognition
Published: October 31, 2023
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/9/20231110
Volume: CHR Vol.9
pp. 51-57
Download PDF

References

  1. Batson, C. D., Kobrynowicz, D., Dinnerstein, J. L., et al. In a very different voice: unmasking moral hypocrisy. Journal of personality and social psychology, 1997, 72(6), 1335.
  2. Valdesolo, P., & DeSteno, D. (2007). Moral hypocrisy: Social groups and the flexibility of virtue. Psychological Science, 18(8), 689–690.
  3. Juvan, E., & Dolnicar, S. (2014). The attitude–behaviour gap in sustainable tourism. Annals of tourism research, 48, 76-95.
  4. Witman, P. D. (2018). “What gets measured, gets managed” the wells fargo account opening scandal. Journal of Information Systems Education, 29(3), 131-138.
  5. Jordan, J. J., Sommers, R., Bloom, P., & Rand, D. G. (2017). Why Do We Hate Hypocrites? Evidence for a Theory of False Signaling. Psychological science, 28(3), 356–368.
  6. Dong, M., van Prooijen, J.-W., & van Lange, P. A. M. (2021). Calculating Hypocrites Effect: Moral judgments of word-deed contradictory transgressions depend on targets’ competence. Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 5, 489– 501.
  7. Jordan, J., & Sommers, R. (2022). When does moral engagement risk triggering a hypocrite penalty?. Current Opinion in Psychology, 47, 101404.
  8. Tang H, Ye P, Wang S, et al. (2018). Corrigendum: stimulating the right temporoparietal junction with tdcs decreases deception in moral hypocrisy and unfairness. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 142.
  9. Batson, C. D., & Thompson, E. R. (1999). Seuferling G, et al. Moral hypocrisy: appearing moral to oneself without being so. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(3), 525.
  10. Batson, C. D., & Thompson, E. R. (2001). Why don’t moral people act morally? Motivational considerations. Current directions in psychological science, 10(2), 54-57.
  11. Lammers, J. (2012). Abstraction increases hypocrisy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(2), 475-480.
  12. Septianto, F., Tjiptono, F., Arli, D., et al. (2022). The differential effects of integral pride and gratitude on divergent moral judgment for the self versus others. Australian Journal of Management, 47(3), 579-594.
  13. Polman E, Ruttan R L. (2012). Effects of anger, guilt, and envy on moral hypocrisy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38(1), 129-139.
  14. Tang, H., Wang, S., Liang, Z., et al. (2018). Are proselfs more deceptive and hypocritical? social image concerns in appearing fair. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2268.
  15. Rai, T. S., & Holyoak, K. J. (2014). Rational hypocrisy: A Bayesian analysis based on informal argumentation and slippery slopes. Cognitive Science, 38(7), 1456-1467.
  16. Hou Yubo, Tang Yao, Zhang Binmeizi. (2020). Narcissism and Moral Hypocrisy: The Role of Machiavellian and Dialectical Thinking. Psychology Exploration, 40(06), 568-573.
  17. Lammers, J., Stapel, D. A. & Galinsky, A. D. (2010). Power increases hypocrisy: Moralizing in reasoning, immorality in behavior. Psychological science, 21(5), 737-744.
  18. Valdesolo, P, & DeSteno, D. (2008). The duality of virtue: Deconstructing the moral hypocrite. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44(5), 1334-1338.
  19. Fu Xinyuan, Lu Zhiyuan, Kou Yu. (2015). The influence of the presence and behavior of strangers on individual moral hypocrisy. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 47(8), 1058.
  20. Wang Z, Liu X, Zhang L, et al. (2022). Effect of matching between the adopted corporate response strategy and the type of hypocrisy manifestation on consumer behavior: Mediating role of negative emotions. Frontiers in Psychology, 2687.