• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.13-24
• /
• 2023

This study tested whether the evaluation of moral cleansing behavior following an immoral act depends on the resources available to the wrongdoer. To this end, resource availability was manipulated by the wrongdoer's characteristics (socioeconomic status vs. physical health condition) and type of moral cleansing (donation vs. volunteer work), and participants rated the pain of the moral cleansing behavior, hypocrisy, and forgivability. Study 1 presents a scenario where a wrongdoer, either high or low in socioeconomic status, conducts moral cleansing via donation or volunteer work. Participants judged donation by those high in socioeconomic status to be not so painful, hypocritical, and unforgivable. Study 2 described a scenario in which a wrongdoer, either physically strong or weak, performs an act of moral cleansing either by donation or volunteer work. Participants considered those sickly wrongdoers' volunteer work to be painful, less hypocritical, and (compared with other conditions) more forgivable. Mediation analyses showed that in both Studies 1 and 2, pain in moral cleansing influenced the hypocrisy judgment which, in turn, affected perceived forgivability. These results indicate that, even for the same expiatory behavior, moral judgment depends on the actor's available resources. That is, people believe that moral cleansing should involve pain; otherwise, the act is hypocritical and unforgivable.