Moral Credentialing

Drawing of a woman running on a treadmill

For subtitled video of this podcast, click here.

We work out, then pig out. We donate to charity, then indulge in retail therapy. Does this also happen with our good deeds? How can we avoid bringing our moral scorecards to the workplace?

References

Effron, D. A., Cameron, J. S., & Monin, B. (2009). Endorsing Obama licenses favoring whites. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(3), 590-593.

Khan, U., & Dhar, R. (2006). Licensing effect in consumer choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(2), 259-266.

Mazar, N., & Zhong, C. B. (2010). Do green products make us better people? Psychological Science, 21(4), 494-498.

Monin, B., & Miller, D. T. (2001). Moral credentials and the expression of prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(1), 33.

Credits

Moral Credentialing was created and developed by Mahzarin Banaji and Olivia Kang with funding from PwC and Harvard University.

Narration by Olivia Kang, featuring Sa-Kiera Hudson (Harvard University)

Sound Editing & Mixing by Evan Younger

Music by Miracles of Modern Science

Artwork by Olivia Kang

Research Assistant: Timothy Carroll