AI Article Synopsis
- The study examines how having excuses for self-serving actions affects favoritism toward one's group during a political context.
- When participants knew the distribution outcomes could benefit them but were unaware of their partner's payoff, they tended to act selfishly towards both in-group and out-group members.
- The presence of moral wiggle room led to a noticeable drop in group favoritism, particularly among those interacting with fellow partisans.
Article Abstract
How does the availability of excuses for self-interested behavior impact group favoritism? We report the results of a preregistered experiment, conducted on the eve of the 2022 midterm elections, in which American political partisans made payoff distribution choices for themselves and a partner who was known to be a co-partisan or opposing partisan. Under full information, participants exhibit significant group favoritism. However, when the payoff consequences for one's partner are initially hidden, participants exploit this excuse to act selfishly regardless of who their partner is and ignorance rates are identical for in-group and out-group members. As a result, moral wiggle room has a significantly larger impact on selfish behavior for those interacting with co-partisans than opposing partisans, leading to a reduction in group favoritism.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11475467 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae307 | DOI Listing |
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