Unclearly Immoral: How Self-Concept Clarity Shapes Moral Behaviors

The current research examines the effect of self-concept clarity (i.e., having self-beliefs that are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and stable) on moral behaviors. Five preregistered experiments (N =2906) document that a lack of self-concept clarity decreases moral behaviors (e.g., honest reporting on car insurance claims, volunteering) by facilitating the decoupling of one’s moral behaviors and self-concept (i.e., moral disconnection). The authors show that low self-concept clarity increased cheating for monetary gains in an incentivized game (Study 1). Further, the effect of self-concept clarity on moral behavior is mediated by moral disconnection (Study 2), attenuates among people with high trait moral identity internalization or low trait moral disengagement (Study 3) or in the presence of an honor pledge cueing moral engagement (Study 4), and holds only when a prosocial act is congruent with one’s values (Study 5). Overall, the findings contribute to the literature on self-concept, morality, and self-diagnosticity, and yield implications for how to promote ethicality and curb immorality in the marketplace and society.