ABSTRACT
People see themselves as moral actors, motivated to act by moral precepts such as fairness, honesty, and egalitarianism. Yet despite the great store people put in their identity as a moral person, they often act in ways that contradict it. Their willingness to deviate from their moral ideals in favor of less-than-noble motivations is especially great under two conditions. The first is when contextual factors render ambiguous the real motives behind their actions. In these cases, the context raises “reasonable doubt” about any charge that the person was acting immorally, allowing for the possibility that the act could reflect a genuine principle or legitimate preference. The second condition in which we find people acting inconsistently with their moral identity is when circumstances allow them to minimize the extent of their fall from grace.
