Does Honesty Result from Moral Will or Moral Grace? Why Moral Identity Matters
Journal of Business Ethics · 2015 · Volume 127 · Issue 2
DOI: 10.1007/s10551-014-2050-x
Abstract
Does honesty result from the absence of temptation or the active resistance of temptation? The “will’’ hypothesis suggests that honesty results from the active resistance of temptation, while the ”grace” hypothesis argues that honesty results from the absence of temptation. We examined reaction time and measured the cheating behavior of individuals who had a chance to lie for money. In study 1, we tested the “grace” hypothesis that honesty results from the absence of temptation and found a priming effect of moral constructs on increasing honest behavior. In study 2, we investigated the individual’s moral identity in the same context, articulating different mechanisms that lead people to behave ethically. The result confirms that the “grace” hypothesis was valid for people who had a high moral identity, while the “will” hypothesis was accurate for individuals who had a low moral identity.
Keywords
Cheating behavior, Moral identity, Moral grace, Moral will, Neural activity, Reaction time
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