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On why hypocrisy thrives: Reasonable doubt created by moral posturing can deter punishment
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2015. Vol. 59. P. 139–145.
Lönnqvist J., Rilke R., Walkowitz G.
In four bargaining games with an option to punish, participants could avoid punishment by shifting the blame for
an unfair offer on a random coin flip. Punishments were not affected bywhether the results of the coin flipcould
be verified, nor by beliefs about whether a coin had actually been flipped (Studies 1–3). Our results suggest that
the rather blatant moral posturing of hypocrites was enough to create reasonable doubt about their guilt,and that
such doubt deterred punishment.Alternative explanations of reluctance to punish hypocrites,such as free-riding
from altruistic punishment (Study 2), or feelings of gratitude (Study 3) were not supported. Independent third
parties were also less punitive toward those who blamed the coin (Study 4). Similar results were found in an
online vignette study run with a more representative sample (Study 5). In sum, these findings suggest that
hypocrisy thrives because it can deter punishment.
Language:
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