The Influence Of Moral Self-regulation And Moral Self-concept On Altruistic Behavior

From the perspective of the influence of internal and external moral evaluation, the present study investigated the influence of moral self-regulation and moral self-concept on altruistic behavior. Two experiments were conducted with college and graduate students recruited as participants. The first experiment applied 3 (moral self-perception priming:immoral priming, moral priming, and neutral control) x 2 (moral self-concept:high and low) within-subject design, with different types of priming including moral self-concept and moral self-perception as independent variables and altruistic behavior as dependent variable. Results showed that individuals with higher level of moral self-concept had higher level of altruistic tendency than individuals with lower level of moral self-concept. And individuals who were primed with immoral self-perception had a higher level of altruistic tendency than individuals in neutral control group. Individuals in neutral control group had a higher level of altruistic tendency than individuals who were primed with moral self-perception, with the former showing moral cleansing effect while the latter showing moral licensing effect. In addition, moral cleansing effect rather than moral licensing effect appeared among individuals with higher moral self-concept, while the situation was opposite for individuals with lower moral self-concept. Moral self-concept had significant influence on altruistic behaviors among participants in both immoral and moral priming groups. The second experiment applied 2 (moral evaluation:high and tow) x 2 (moral self-concept: tow and high) between-subject design, with moral self-concept and moral evaluation as independent variables and altruistic behavior as dependent variable. Results showed that altruistic tendency among individuals with higher level of moral self-concept was significantly higher than individuals with tower level of moral self-concept both in general and in different experimental conditions. Altruistic tendency among individuals who received high level of moral evaluation was significantly higher then individuals who received low level of moral evaluation. And altruistic tendency among high moral self-concept individuals who received high level of moral evaluation was significantly higher than individuals with low level of moral self-concept.