The Relation between Moral Judgment and Behavior: A Social-Cognitive and Decision-Making Analysis

It is commonly assumed that there are discrepancies between moral judgments and moral behaviors because greater self-interest is at stake in behavior. Some of these discrepancies may be due instead to differences in the way the moral situation is construed in deciding how to behave vs. how to evaluate a behavior. Specifically, the moral situation is interpreted from the self's perspective prior to a behavioral decision, whereas in the case of evaluation it is construed from the perspective of an observer judging the actor's decision after the event. Judgment-behavior differences may also arise out of differences in the complexity of the moral issue being decided. Assessments of moral behavior typically involve conflicts between moral and other kinds of pressures, whereas assessments of moral judgment often involve dilemmas in which the conflict is between two moral duties. These two differences may account for much of the divergence between moral behavior and judgment. Principles of social cognition and decision-making should prove useful in understanding the extent to which moral judgment and behavior are related at different points in development.