The Orthogonality of Praise and Condemnation in Moral Judgment

Abstract

The present studies examined whether the tendency to praise others for positive (i.e., moral) behaviors correlates with the tendency to condemn others for negative (i.e., immoral) behaviors. Across three studies, factor analyses revealed that these tendencies are orthogonal. The results refute the hypothesis that simply caring deeply about morality leads individuals to praise moral behaviors and condemn immoral ones. The research instead suggests that individuals who are most praising of positive behavior are not necessarily those who are most condemning of negative behavior, because orthogonal conceptions of morality influence each type of judgment. Although the tendency to condemn depends on how much one personally cares about morality (internalization), the tendency to praise seems to depend on one's public moral persona (symbolization).

Consistency Versus Licensing Effects of Past Moral Behavior

“…Diagnosticity is deeply rooted in the attributional structure of the situation, and in particular the attributional schemas attached to the moral domain (Reeder & Brewer 1979). In the case of morality (and related domains such as prejudice or the environment), this is reflected in the traditional distinction made in ethics between perfect and imperfect duties (Kant 2002, Wiltermuth et al 2010. Imperfect duties are desirable feats for a good person-but not performing them does not impugn your morality.…”

Moral foundations vignettes: a standardized stimulus database of scenarios based on moral foundations theory

“…Notably, we do not view these vignettes as measuring every aspect of morality. Our vignettes focuses specifically on judgment of third-party moral violations, as opposed to separable dimensions such as moral praise (Wiltermuth, Monin, & Chow, 2010) or moral character (Chadwick, Bromgard, Bromgard, & Trafimow, 2006). …”

The Influence of Ethical Leadership and Regulatory Focus on Employee Outcomes

“…Ethical leadership, defined as "the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making" (Brown, Treviño, & Harrison 2005: 120), has the potential to encourage this type of positive engagement among employees. Ethical leadership encompasses both the morality of duty and obligation to avoid negative behaviors and the morality of aspiration and positive or praiseworthy behaviors (Wiltermuth, Monin, & Chow, 2010). Ethical leadership reduces the prevalence of negative characteristics of the work environments such as unethical behavior and relationship conflict (Mayer, Aquino, Greenbaum, & Kuenzi, 2012), and it contributes to the positive characteristics of the work environment such as employees enjoying their jobs (Neubert, Carlson, Kacmar, Roberts, & Chonko, 2009).…”