Moral Hypocrisy on the Basis of Construal Level: To Be a Utilitarian Personal Decision Maker or to Be a Moral Advisor?

Wei Xiao, Qing Wu, Qun Yang, Liang Zhou, Yuan Jiang, Jiaxi Zhang, Danmin Miao and Jiaxi Peng

PLOS ONE, 2015, vol. 10, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Background: People encounter various moral issues that involve making decisions for others by giving advice. Objective: This study investigated the characteristics of providing suggestions for oneself versus providing suggestions for others in ethical decision-making and the differences between them based on Construal Level Theory (CLT). Methods: A total of 768 undergraduate students from three universities in China were randomly assigned to eight groups on the basis of a grid of two Construal Levels (self or others) by two different numbers of people saved (5 people or 15 people) by two problem situations (trolley problem vs. footbridge problem). The investigation examined participants’ decisions to opt to take action or refrain from action that would have the consequence of saving more people. Results: The main effects of Construal Level (F1, 752 = 6.46, p = .011), saving number (F1, 752 = 35.81, p

Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0117540

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117540

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