Symbolic Moral Self-Completion – Social Recognition of Prosocial Behavior Reduces Subsequent Moral Striving

Abstract

According to theories on moral balancing, a prosocial act can decrease people's motivation to engage in subsequent prosocial behavior, because people feel that they have already achieved a positive moral self-perception. However, there is also empirical evidence showing that people actually need to be recognized by others in order to establish and affirm their self-perception through their prosocial actions. Without social recognition, moral balancing could possibly fail. In this paper, we investigate in two laboratory experiments how social recognition of prosocial behavior influences subsequent moral striving. Building on self-completion theory, we hypothesize that social recognition of prosocial behavior (self-serving behavior) weakens (strengthens) subsequent moral striving. In Study 1, we show that a prosocial act leads to less subsequent helpfulness when it was socially recognized as compared to a situation without social recognition. Conversely, when a self-serving act is socially recognized, it encourages subsequent helpfulness. In Study 2, we replicate the effect of social recognition on moral striving in a more elaborated experimental setting and with a larger participant sample. We again find that a socially recognized prosocial act leads to less subsequent helpfulness compared to an unrecognized prosocial act. Our results shed new light on the boundary conditions of moral balancing effects and underscore the view that these effects can be conceptualized as a dynamic of self-completion.

Fitnesser’s Intrinsic Motivations of Green Eating: An Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior and Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model

“…Social recognition is about public acknowledgment of people's status, merits, or personality (Susewind and Walkowitz, 2020). Maslow's (1970) hierarchy of needs classifies human needs into five levels to motivate human behavior.…”

Does Conceptual Abstraction Moderate Whether Past Moral Deeds Motivate Consistency or Compensatory Behavior? A Registered Replication and Extension of Conway and Peetz (2012)

“…Given that we could not replicate C&P's proposed moderation by conceptual abstraction, it may also be important to reconsider other hypothesized moderators in sequential moral behavior (e.g., Brown et al, 2011;Griep et al, 2021;Lalot et al, 2022;Susewind & Hoelzl, 2014;Susewind & Walkowitz, 2020). Understanding the factors that regulate whether doing good or bad leads to similar or opposite behavior afterward is crucial not only in moral psychology but also in domains such as organizational (List & Momeni, 2021) and consumer (Juhl et al, 2017) behavior.…”

“…To reconcile the debate between sequential moral consistency and compensatory behavior, several studies have examined potential moderating factors determining when each is more likely to occur. Research shows compensatory (consistency) moral behavior is more likely when people adopt a concrete (abstract) mental construal (Brown et al, 2011;Conway & Peetz, 2012), are oriented toward an outcome-based (rule-based) ethical mindset (Cornelissen et al, 2013), have a goal progress (commitment) mindset (Susewind & Hoelzl, Running head: MORAL CONSISTENCY OR COMPENSATION 2014), (do not) feel social recognition of the initial good behavior (Susewind & Walkowitz, 2020), focus on the past (future) organizational citizenship behavior (Griep et al, 2021), or have prevention (promotion) regulatory focus (Lalot et al, 2022). This stream of research suggests that the moral consistency vs. compensatory behavior debate may not be about which is more likely but when is each more likely.…”

Morality Development and Its Influence on Emotion, Attitudes, and Decision Making

“…Social environments can also affect moral decision-making. Susewind and Walkowitz (2020) found that social recognition of prosocial acts led to less subsequent helpful behavior compared to prosocial acts that were unrecognized (e.g. anonymously donating to charity).…”