Unpacking moral hypocrisy: Differentiating the effects of moral self-licensing, cognitive, emotional and behavioral outcomes of moral hypocrisy

The lack of experimental methods to detect moral hypocrisy doers individually presents a significant gap in the literature. To address this issue, the first part of this study (N=101) developed a novel experimental method, the envelope method, aimed at directly assessing individuals who engage in moral hypocrisy. The effectiveness of this method was evaluated using the Chi-square test. In the second part of the study (N=381), the newly developed method was employed to investigate the causes of moral hypocrisy behavior, focusing on moral self-licensing materialism, self-monitoring, and religious orientation. Participants completed the Material Values Scale, Self-Monitoring Scale, and Religious Orientation Scale. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, independent samples t-test, and binary logistic regression analysis. The third part of the study (N=196) examined the cognitive (micro-macro justice perception and state self-esteem), emotional (self-conscious emotions), and behavioral (donation as a helping behavior) outcomes of moral hypocrisy. Participants completed the Micro-Macro Justice Perception Scale, State Self-Esteem Scale, Emotional Labor Scale, and Helping Behavior Scale. The findings from the second part indicated that the moral self-licensing manipulation was effective, and participants engaging in moral hypocrisy exhibited higher levels of self-monitoring compared to those who did not. Analyses in the third part revealed that participants displaying moral hypocrisy had higher tendencies toward micro justice, significantly lower state social self-esteem, a greater likelihood of donating, and higher levels of shame compared to their counterparts. The primary contribution of this study lies in the development of a novel method that enables the identification of individuals engaging in moral hypocrisy individually. Future research applying this method with different variables and samples, using culturally sensitive measurement tools, is crucial for evaluating its validity. Keywords: Moral hypocrisy, moral self-justification, causes and outcomes of moral hypocrisy behavior