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Situational Moral Disengagement: Can the Effects of Self-Interest be Mitigated?

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Abstract

Self-interest has long been recognized as a powerful human motive. Yet, much remains to be understood about the thinking behind self-interested pursuits. Drawing from multiple literatures, we propose that situations high in opportunity for self-interested gain trigger a type of moral cognition called moral disengagement that allows the individual to more easily disengage internalized moral standards. We also theorize two countervailing forces—situational harm to others and dispositional conscientiousness—that may weaken the effects of personal gain on morally disengaged reasoning. We test our hypotheses in two studies using qualitative and quantitative data and complementary research methods and design. We demonstrate that when personal gain incentives are relatively moderate, reminders of harm to others can reduce the likelihood that employees will morally disengage. Furthermore, when strong personal gain incentives are present in a situation, highly conscientious individuals are less apt than their counterparts to engage in morally disengaged reasoning.

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Notes

  1. Raters assessed (on a five-point Likert scale), “the extent to which you agree/disagree that the scenario represents a behavior that involves harm to others.” Harm ratings ranged from 2.60 to 4.47 across the scenarios; ICC(2) was .95 (Bartko 1976; LeBreton and Senter 2008).

  2. Two participants’ data were removed from the analysis because they indicated they were suspicious about the true purpose of the “work opportunity”. Two additional participants’ data were removed from the analysis for unruly behavior, suggesting that they were not treating the task or the paperwork responsibly.

  3. We selected a rate of $1.25/page after conducting pilot sessions at two universities not involved in the Study 2 experiment. We determined (by paying a generous flat rate and exhorting students to do their best for 15 min) that at a rate of $1.25/page, most students doing the job carefully (i.e., accurately finding the errors) would be able to earn $10 or more for just 30 min of work. Thus, even the baseline personal gain condition was quite generous considering the worker population in this task.

  4. To determine an appropriate level for the enhanced personal gain bonus condition, a pilot study was conducted at a private liberal arts college in the Midwest. The 68 pilot participants were recruited from three courses offered in management and accounting, and ranged from sophomores to seniors. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three personal gain conditions—no bonus beyond piece rate, $5 bonus, and $10 bonus. Based on analysis—e.g., changes in behavior in response to the different personal gain conditions—and information gleaned from debriefs, it was decided that a $10 bonus condition (essentially doubling the amount of money that could be earned) significantly enhanced recognition of opportunity for personal gain without evoking high suspicion.

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Acknowledgments

We extend our thanks to Vikas Anand, Mike Brown, Dan Chiaburu, David Harrison, Nate Petitt, and the members of the ORG seminar at Penn State for their feedback on earlier drafts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arkansas – Fayetteville, 407 Business Building, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA

    Jennifer Kish-Gephart

  2. Cornell University, 342 Sage Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    James Detert

  3. The Pennsylvania State University, 402 Business Building, University Park, PA, 16801, USA

    Linda Klebe Treviño

  4. Albion College, 611 E. Porter Street, Albion, MI, 49224, USA

    Vicki Baker

  5. Cornell University, 201 Sage Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Sean Martin

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  1. Jennifer Kish-Gephart
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  2. James Detert
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  4. Vicki Baker
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  5. Sean Martin
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Correspondence to Jennifer Kish-Gephart.

Appendix

Appendix

Study 2 Proofreading Activity: Screens One and Two

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Kish-Gephart, J., Detert, J., Treviño, L.K. et al. Situational Moral Disengagement: Can the Effects of Self-Interest be Mitigated?. J Bus Ethics 125, 267–285 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1909-6

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