Overcoming Bias

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Self-Haters Donate More

www.overcomingbias.com

Self-Haters Donate More

Robin Hanson
Apr 10, 2009
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Self-Haters Donate More

www.overcomingbias.com

Psychological Science told us "Haters Cheat Less"; now it tells us "Self-Haters Donate More":

We propose a framework suggesting that moral (or immoral) behavior can result from an internal balancing of moral self-worth and the cost inherent in altruistic behavior. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to write a self-relevant story containing words referring to either positive or negative traits. Participants who wrote a story referring to the positive traits donated one fifth as much as those who wrote a story referring to the negative traits. In Experiment 2, we showed that this effect was due specifically to a change in the self-concept. In Experiment 3, we replicated these findings and extended them to cooperative behavior in environmental decision making. We suggest that affirming a moral identity leads people to feel licensed to act immorally. However, when moral identity is threatened, moral behavior is a means to regain some lost self-worth.

So when can it be good to make people feel bad about themselves, so that they will be good to others?

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Self-Haters Donate More

www.overcomingbias.com
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