Moral Identity Very Complex, Study Shows

New studies from the University of Washington reveal that the secret to what prompts moral and ethical behavior is more complex than previously surmised.

Companies are sometimes plagued with rampant instances of bad behavior. The study of ethics has gained more and more ground in colleges and universities over the last several decades in response to the growing problem companies face with morally and ethically incorrect choices made by employees.

Scott Reynolds and Tara Ceranic, an assistant professor in the Michael G. Foster School of Business and a doctoral student in business, respectively, conducted two studies to determine the motivating factors-or the "why"--of moral and ethical behavior. One theory being tested was that moral and ethical behavior is dependent on judgments of that which is right and that which is wrong: faulty judgment causes immoral and unethical behavior choices. Another theory is that the individual's moral identity-- seeing themselves as a moral and ethical person or not-drives the outcome of these behaviors.

The Reynolds and Ceranic studies surveyed approximately 500 business managers and college students regarding their perceptions of and reports on their own moral and ethical behaviors in order to test these two theories. In the first study, college students were asked if they would ever cheat in a college course in order to attain a higher score on an exam. The second study posed an ambiguous hypothetical scenario to company business managers asking how they would respond in a situation where an hourly employee finished their work early and desired to go home while expressing a need for the pay from the remaining work hours.

In the study with the college students, participants were asked to report on their assessment of their moral identity: do they believe themselves to be moral. Then they were asked about cheating to get a better grade on an exam. The results showed that students who considered themselves to be moral and ethical people and who believed cheating on an exam to be morally wrong were the least likely of the participants to report that they would cheat.

On the other hand, students who similarly considered themselves to be moral and ethical people but did not view cheating as morally wrong but saw it as an ethically justifiable behavior reported most often that they would unquestionably cheat: they were the worst cheaters.

The researchers concluded that this study indicates that moral identity is a motivational force: moral identity motivates behavior. But moral identity can motivate in either direction, i. e., to cheat or not to cheat depending on the accompanying moral beliefs.

Reynolds said: "A person's moral identity can interact with his or her judgments and actually push ethical behaviors to extreme levels, as we saw with the students who decided that cheating was justifiable and OK."

In the study involving management decisions, a similar pattern emerged but the study was designed to more clearly articulate the motivational quality as opposed to a guiding quality of moral identity. The results of the study showed that those who definitely saw themselves as moral chose to either give the employee the rest of the day off or to give the employee extra work so that all their scheduled hours could be fulfilled for full pay. Those managers who reported themselves as moderately or somewhat moral chose more moderate options in between the two extremes of very accommodating and very strict.

The researchers conclude that in order for companies to elicit the most ethical behavior from their employees, it is important to hire moral people but also it is necessary that formal ethics training be provided to reduce the behavioral variations that lead to extremes and may not best serve the interests of the employees or company. Further, establishing codes of conduct; using formal and informal means to convey social and company consensus; rewarding and encouraging the traits of a positive moral identity like compassion, industriousness and fair-mindedness; and appropriate delegation of authority will advance ethical behavior in company cultures.

"Holier than thou? Employees who believe they are 'ethical' or 'moral' people might not be," University of Washington.