Rules or Consequences? The Role of Ethical Mindsets in Moral Dynamics

• Authors: Gert Cornelissen.
• BSE Working Paper: 601 | September 15
• Keywords: moral balancing , moral consistency , ethical mindsets , ethical behavior
• JEL codes: C91, D03
• moral balancing
• moral consistency
• ethical mindsets
• ethical behavior

Recent research on the dynamics of moral behavior has documented two contrasting phenomena – moral consistency and moral balancing. Moral balancing refers to the phenomenon whereby behaving (un)ethically decreases the likelihood of doing so again at a later time. Moral consistency describes the opposite pattern – engaging in (un)ethical behavior increases the likelihood of doing so later on. Three studies support the hypothesis that individuals’ ethical mindset (i.e., outcome-based versus rule-based) moderates the impact of an initial (un)ethical act on the likelihood of behaving ethically in a subsequent occasion. More specifically, an outcome-based mindset facilitates moral balancing and a rule-based mindset facilitates moral consistency.