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Hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral character judgments.

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Title: Hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral character judgments.
Authors: Bocian, Konrad (AUTHOR), Myslinska Szarek, Katarzyna (AUTHOR), Miazek, Katarzyna (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Social Psychology. 2026, Vol. 166 Issue 3, p279-294. 16p.
Subjects: Hypocrisy, Self-interest, Cognitive bias, Social groups, Moral norms, Psychology, Goal (Psychology), Moral judgment
Abstract: Self-interest bias describes an observer's tendency to judge moral transgression leniently when they benefit from it. However, what factors moderate the self-interest bias is an open empirical question. Here, we investigated to what extent hypocrisy moderates the self-interest bias. Preregistered Study 1a (N = 194) and replication in Study 1b (N = 193) demonstrated that observers' interest impacts moral character judgments of hypocritical transgressors. This effect was explained by observers' goal attainment due to transgression (Study 2, N = 713) and agreement to aid observers' or ingroup interests (Study 3, N = 634). Importantly, transgressors' hypocrisy moderated the impact of observers' interests in moral character judgments (Studies 2 & 3). In summary, when judging hypocritical transgressors, peoples' moral character judgments tend to be biased by their or their group's interests. However, in comparison to non-hypocritical transgressors, this impact is less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral character judgments.
– Name: Author
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bocian%2C+Konrad%22">Bocian, Konrad</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Myslinska+Szarek%2C+Katarzyna%22">Myslinska Szarek, Katarzyna</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Miazek%2C+Katarzyna%22">Miazek, Katarzyna</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Social+Psychology%22">Journal of Social Psychology</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 166 Issue 3, p279-294. 16p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hypocrisy%22">Hypocrisy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-interest%22">Self-interest</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+bias%22">Cognitive bias</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+groups%22">Social groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moral+norms%22">Moral norms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology%22">Psychology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Goal+%28Psychology%29%22">Goal (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moral+judgment%22">Moral judgment</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Self-interest bias describes an observer's tendency to judge moral transgression leniently when they benefit from it. However, what factors moderate the self-interest bias is an open empirical question. Here, we investigated to what extent hypocrisy moderates the self-interest bias. Preregistered Study 1a (N = 194) and replication in Study 1b (N = 193) demonstrated that observers' interest impacts moral character judgments of hypocritical transgressors. This effect was explained by observers' goal attainment due to transgression (Study 2, N = 713) and agreement to aid observers' or ingroup interests (Study 3, N = 634). Importantly, transgressors' hypocrisy moderated the impact of observers' interests in moral character judgments (Studies 2 & 3). In summary, when judging hypocritical transgressors, peoples' moral character judgments tend to be biased by their or their group's interests. However, in comparison to non-hypocritical transgressors, this impact is less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Social Psychology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/00224545.2024.2393093
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 279
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Hypocrisy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-interest
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cognitive bias
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social groups
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Moral norms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Goal (Psychology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Moral judgment
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral character judgments.
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            NameFull: Bocian, Konrad
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            NameFull: Myslinska Szarek, Katarzyna
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          Name:
            NameFull: Miazek, Katarzyna
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: 2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 166
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Social Psychology
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