title: The pot calling the kettle black: distancing response to ethical dissonance.
abstract: Six studies demonstrate the "pot calling the kettle black" phenomenon whereby people are guilty of the very fault they identify in others. Recalling an undeniable ethical failure, people experience ethical dissonance between their moral values and their behavioral misconduct. Our findings indicate that to reduce ethical dissonance, individuals use a double-distancing mechanism. Using an overcompensating ethical code, they judge others more harshly and present themselves as more virtuous and ethical (Studies 1, 2, 3). We show this mechanism is exclusive for ethical dissonance and is not triggered by salience of ethicality (Study 4), general sense of personal failure, or ethically neutral cognitive dissonance (Study 5). Finally, it is characterized by some boundary conditions (Study 6). We discuss the theoretical contribution of this work to research on moral regulation and ethical behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Business Administration, Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. barkanr@som.bgu.ac.il
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barkan
authors.forename: Shahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ayal
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gino
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ariely
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D004989:Ethics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D019365:Metaphor; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult