摘要
本文通过两个研究探讨道德自我调节对亲社会行为和违规行为的影响。研究一中,被试随机分为三组,分别抄写"正性特质词语""负性特质词语"或"中性词语",并回忆自己所经历的与关键词有关的事情。启动完成后,考察其捐助行为。结果发现,正性特质启动组被试愿意捐助的数目显著高于负性特质和中性词语启动组。研究二用同样的方法改变被试的道德自我知觉,然后对被试的作弊行为进行了考察。结果发现,正性特质启动组的作弊严重程度显著低于中性词语启动组,负性特质启动组的作弊发生率和作弊严重程度显著低于中性词语启动组。本研究表明,道德自我调节过程不一定遵循负反馈机制:虽然"道德净化效应"在本研究中得到了部分验证,但是我们的实验结果不符合"道德许可效应"的预期。
Moral self-regulation, the dynamic process through which an individual＇s moral behavior history influences subsequent moral action, includes a negative-feedback mechanism. When people recall their own moral （immoral） behavior, moral self-perception will deviate from the ideal moral self-image, motivating them to engage in decreased （increased） moral action or increased （decreased） immoral action to compensate their bolstered （threatened） moral self-perception, and thereby activating a moral licensing （cleansing） effect. Whereas moral licensing and cleansing have been frequently reported in studies on prosocial behavior, less is so in rule infraction （e.g., cheating）. In the current study, the authors designed two experiments to study the effects of moral self-regulation on prosocial behavior and rule infraction. We predicted that after moral （immoral） priming, participants would demonstrate less （more） charitable giving and more （less） cheating. Moreover, because people are more motivated to avoid harms than to approach benefits, the moral self-regulation process may be asymmetric in terms of prescriptive morality （what we should do） versus proscriptive morality （what we should not do）. Specifically, we hypothesized that moral licensing would be more readily observed in charitable giving than in cheating; in contrast, we expected the reverse in moral cleansing. In Study 1, 155 undergraduate students were randomly assigned into positive-traits, negative-traits, or neutral-words condition. In each condition, participants were asked to copy a list of positive or negative moral traits, or inanimate objects; they were also instructed to recall past self-experience relevant to the keywords that they had copied. After the priming task, participants were invited to make a hypothetical donation. A one-way Analysis of Variance （ANOVA） was conducted to examine the influence of moral priming on the amount of money that participants intended to donate. In Study 2, 96 undergraduate students＇ moral self-perception was manipulated using the same method as that in Study 1. Then, participants＇ cheating behavior was observed. A 3x2 contingency table and a one-way ANCOVA were conducted to explore the effects of moral priming on the occurrence rates and severity of cheating among the three conditions, respectively. Results indicated that participants in the positive-traits condition were more willing to donate higher amount of money than those in the negative-traits and neutral-words conditions （Study 1）. Moreover, participants in both experimental conditions were less likely to engage in cheating than those in the control condition, and their cheating behavior was less severe （Study 2）. Taken together, the current study partially confirmed the moral cleansing effect in the proscriptive, but not the prescriptive morality system. However, the opposite of moral licensing effect was observed in both conditions. In conclusion, the motivational mechanism of moral action could be far more complex than previously suggested. For one thing, the self-regulation process could be different in prescriptive versus proscriptive morality. For another, people＇s moral action may be influenced by both moral self-regulation （a compensatory process） as well as moral identity （a consistent process）. To better understand and predict moral actions, future research should investigate both processes in the contexts of proscriptive and prescriptive moralities.
出处
《心理学报》
CSSCI
CSCD
北大核心
2013年第6期672-679,共8页
Acta Psychologica Sinica
关键词
道德自我调节
道德自我知觉
道德净化效应
道德许可效应
moral self-regulation
moral self-perception
moral cleansing effect
moral licensing effect
