Moral Hypocrisy: A Study On The Generation And Intervention Of Self-interested Moral Judgments

Moral hypocrisy in the interpersonal level refers to individuals' judgments of their own immoral behaviors more tolerant than their judgments of the same immoral behaviors which enacted by others.According to the dual process theory,moral hypocrisy involves cognitive process and intuitive process.Moral hypocrisy may be the result of conscious defense and rationalization of one's own immoral behaviors,which controlled by cognitive system,while the judgment of others'immoral behaviors depends on intuitive system.Moral hypocrisy is the result of maintaining moral self-image and essentially a self-interested moral judgment.But there is no relevant empirical study to explore the impact of intuition and cognitive process on moral hypocrisy.Moreover,the emergence of moral hypocrisy also involves the processing the intentions of oneself and others,and is closely related to the solution of self-other-centered problems,which are inseparable from the perspective taking and empathy.Accordingly,the right temporo-parietal junction(rTPJ),as the brain region in charge of empathy and perspective taking,should affect moral hypocrisy.However,so far,there was no relevant research to demonstrate the causality role of right temporo-parietal junction(rTPJ)in moral hypocrisy.Therefore,in order to explore the impact of intuitive and analytical thinking on moral hypocrisy and the neurophysiological intervention approach of moral hypocrisy,three studies read the moral situations of Lammers(2012)for reference and adapted it.In experiment 1,we used 2(time-pressure or no-time pressure)× 2(moral transgression scenario:self or others)between subject design.The subjects were randomly assigned to time-pressure group(intuitive thinking)and no-time-pressure group(analytical thinking),and then completed the judgment of moral transgression scenarios.In experiment 2,we also used 2(analytic or intuitive thinking training group)× 2(moral transgression scenario:self or others)between subject design,the intuitive thinking and analytical thinking were activated by priming method.The subjects were assigned to different groups randomly,and then completed the judgment of moral transgression scenarios(same as experiment 1).In experiment 3,we used 2(anodal or cathodal stimulation)× 2(moral transgression scenario:self or others)between subject design,the subjects completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index Scale(IRI,Davis,1980)first,then they were assigned to the anodal or cathodal stimulation groups randomly,and received the transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)for about 20 minutes,and then they completed the judgment of moral transgression scenarios(same as experiment 1),and finally filled out the Positive and Negative Affect Scale(PANAS).The results showed that:1)In the no-time-pressure group,participants were more tolerant of themselves than others on moral transgressions,that means moral hypocrisy existed in no-time-pressure group;However,there was no moral hypocrisy in the time-pressure group,participants held the same standards for themselves and others in the assessment of moral transgression scenarios.2)Consistent with experiment 1,participants acted more moral hypocritical behaviors when priming analytic thinking,and participants were more tolerant of themselves than others on moral transgressions;But the participants held the same standards for themselves and others in the assessment of moral transgression scenarios when priming intuitive thinking,moral hypocrisy disappeared.3)Moral hypocrisy existed in the cathodal stimulation group,and there was no moral hypocrisy in the anodal stimulation group.That is,the participants in cathodal stimulation group were more tolerant of themselves;while the participants in anodal stimulation group hold the same standard to themselves and others.The results proved the causality between the rTPJ and moral hypocrisy,and also provided the effective neurophysiological intervention approach of moral hypocrisy.Therefore,first of all,time pressure is an important factor of moral hypocrisy,and subjects with or without time pressure will show different moral standards.Secondly,the style of thinking is an important psychological mechanism of moral hypocrisy.It is easy to cause self-interested cognitive bias by analyzing the analytical thinking,which is easy to change to moral hypocrisy.Finally,the activation of the rTPJ significantly inhibited the subjects' moral hypocrisy.The results showed that the self-interested cognitive bias could be suppressed by the enhancement of perspective taking and empathy ability,thus reducing moral hypocrisy.