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moral_licensing
The tendency to allow oneself morally questionable behavior after having done something virtuous, as if good deeds create moral 'credits' that can be spent on later transgressions. Past virtue becomes a license for future vice.
After donating to charity, a person feels justified in being rude to a service worker. After buying an electric car, someone takes more flights.
A politician who publicly champions anti-corruption legislation feels internally justified accepting a lavish dinner from a lobbying group the following week, reasoning that his legislative record proves his integrity. His good public act creates a private sense of moral credit.
After spending an hour volunteering at a food bank on Saturday morning, a person orders an extravagant, wasteful meal and skips recycling for the rest of the weekend, feeling that the morning's virtue has earned them a break from their usual ethical standards.
Binary (yes/no) questions an LLM must answer to identify this aspect:
Has the person recently performed a morally positive action or expressed a morally virtuous attitude?
Type: binaryDoes this prior good behavior lead to subsequently less ethical behavior?
Type: binaryIs the person treating moral behavior as a budget to be spent rather than a standard to be maintained?
Type: binaryThe tendency to allow oneself morally questionable behavior after having done something virtuous, as if good deeds create moral 'credits' that can be spent on later transgressions. Past virtue becomes a license for future vice.
People maintain a moral self-image. When recent behavior establishes a positive moral identity, the threat of a single transgression feels small and is psychologically discounted.
Treat ethical behavior as a consistent standard rather than a balance sheet. Recognize that past good does not justify present harm.
Corporate social responsibility followed by unethical practices, green consumption licensing, and diversity hiring used to justify subsequent discrimination.
Use these tools to detect, analyze, or train this aspect.