Moral Thermostats

*Moral Self-Regulation*

I came across an interesting article in Marketing Week (dated 14.01.10) by Richard Madden on the subject of Moral Self-Regulation.

The basic premise behind the concept of moral self-regulation is that when consumers, or rather human beings do something morally good in one area of their daily activities, they then feel ‘entitled’ to do something more selfish as a way of 'balancing' this act out. One of the examples Madden gives is that of a research study involving charitable church-goers; whereby a change in the local tax regime made giving to charities more advantageous. Imagine what then happened. The value of donations went up, and the frequency of church-going decreased. Take another example of a study that found those who have a higher sense of self-worth feel more ‘entitled’ to choose the route of maximum profit in a choice between profit and environmental responsibility. Those who felt a sense of being sinful tended to make the altruistic decision. Fascinating.

‘Trading off’ is something we all do to some extent on a daily basis. Just think about those individuals who ‘treat’ themselves to an extra slice of cheesecake, and then ‘compensate’ at the gym (or at the very least in their heads). Back when I used to me more disciplined (between the ages of 14 and 18 funnily enough), a meal at Maccy D’s or pizza used to equal an extra 50 sit-ups that evening. That was my way of making junk food ok. I wish I had that kind of discipline nearly 8 years later. So in a way this trading off can be a good thing, but then again it can also burden one with a constant stream of guilt, which needless to say can lead to a whole fountain of other problems – OCD, food complexes, various disorders, depression and the like. So the question seems to be, what is most beneficial?

Now, just imagine what the world would be like if people didn’t possess such moral thermostats to regulate their behaviour. On the one hand we have criminals, and on the other we have those devoted full-time to helping others with no thought of either moral or financial reward for themselves.

The implication of moral self-regulation from a Marketing POV? Madden proposes selling sin in the parish newsletter, and virtue immediately after a transgression. Now, there’s food for thought.