Universität zu Köln

Weiss, Alexa, Burgmer, Pascal ORCID: 0000-0003-3664-0539 and Mussweiler, Thomas (2018). Two-Faced Morality: Distrust Promotes Divergent Moral Standards for the Self Versus Others. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull., 44 (12). S. 1712 - 1725. THOUSAND OAKS: SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. ISSN 1552-7433

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

People do not trust hypocrites, because they preach water, but drink wine. The current research shows that, ironically, when we distrust, we become moral hypocrites ourselves. We argue that experiencing distrust alerts us to the possibility that others may intent to exploit us, and that such looming exploitation differentially affects moral standards for the self versus others. Four studies (N = 1,225) examined this possibility and its underlying motivational dynamic. Study 1 established a relationship between dispositional distrust and flexible, self-serving moral cognition. In Studies 2 and 3, participants experiencing distrust (vs. trust) endorsed more lenient moral standards for themselves than for others. Study 4 explored the role of the motivation to avoid exploitation in these effects. Specifically, participants' dispositional victim sensitivity moderated the effect of distrust on hypocrisy. Together, these findings suggest that individuals who distrust and fear to be exploited show self-serving, and hence untrustworthy, moral cognition themselves.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Weiss, Alexa UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Burgmer, Pascal UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-0539 UNSPECIFIED Mussweiler, Thomas UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-164734
DOI:	10.1177/0146167218775693
Journal or Publication Title:	Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull.
Volume:	44
Number:	12
Page Range:	S. 1712 - 1725
Date:	2018
Publisher:	SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
Place of Publication:	THOUSAND OAKS
ISSN:	1552-7433
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Sociology and Social Psychology > Department of Scociology
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language JUSTICE SENSITIVITY; TRUST; POWER; EXPLOITATION; INTENTIONS; ACTIVATION; HYPOCRISY; EMOTIONS; MATTER; LEADS Multiple languages Psychology, Social Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/16473