Moral Credentials, Intergroup Attitudes, and Regulatory Focus Interactively Affect Support for Affirmative Action

Abstract

People generally tend to stay consistent in their attitudes and actions but can feel licensed to act less-than-virtuously when an initial moral action provides an excuse to do so (i.e., moral self-licensing). A handful of studies have tested how relevant initial attitudes moderate the self-licensing effect but yielded mixed findings: Initial attitudes either decrease, increase, or do not influence licensing dynamics. To account for these inconsistent findings, we propose that the effect of attitudes could itself interact with other factors, notably motivational orientation. We conducted two studies taking into account initial attitudes, absence/presence of moral credentials, and participants’ chronic regulatory focus. Drawing from self-completion theory, we expected self-licensing to occur specifically amongst prevention-focused participants holding positive intergroup attitudes. Results supported this prediction. Prevention-focused participants with positive intergroup attitudes supported affirmative action policies to a lesser extent when they had acquired moral credentials, as compared to when they had not (i.e., self-licensing), t(329) = –3.79, p < .001, d = –.42, 95% CI [–.64, –.20]. Additionally, promotion-focused participants holding positive intergroup attitudes supported affirmative action policies to a greater extent when they had acquired moral credentials (i.e., behavioral consistency), t(329) = 2.44, p = .015, d = .27, 95% CI [.05, .49].

Pengaruh Pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam Terhadap Moral Credential Effect Mahasiswa Universitas Math'laul Anwar Banten Terhadap Tradisi Tahlilan

“…Ini sesuai dengan gagasan bahwa kredensial melepaskan ekspresi sikap yang benar tetapi tidak diinginkan secara sosial (Lalot and Falomir-Pichastor 2019) Metode ini digunakan untuk memperoleh data yang diambil secara langsung pada kehidupan masyarakat dan instrumen yang digunakan adalah observasi dan wawancara terhadap para responden. Data yang diperoleh lalu diuraikan dan tahap berikutnya menyusun hasil wawancara dan mendeskripsikan hasil penelitian.…”