在知覺他人時，對他人的美德的偏愛性是一種主導因素，一般認為人們喜歡高尚的品德，而厭惡不道德品質。但研究卻發現：它們是有條件的，并且可以發生反轉。通過外顯和內隱的測量方法，對美德和非道德行為的喜愛取決于當前的目標。當不道德品質符合被試的當前目標時，對美德的偏愛消失或反轉。仁慈 vs. 無情，誠實 vs. 不誠實，性忠誠 vs. 出軌，利他 vs. 自私都發現如此。對不道德品質的偏愛源于人們對由其而產生的對權力的崇拜，而非是不道德品質本身。
The preference for morality in others is regarded as a dominant factor in person perception. Moral traits are thought to foster liking, and immoral traits are thought to foster disliking, irrespective of the context in which they are embedded. We report the results of four studies that oppose this view. Using both explicit and implicit measures, we found that the preference for morality vs. immorality in others is conditional on the evaluator’s current goals. Specifically, when immorality was conducive to participants’ current goals, the preference for moral vs. immoral traits in others was eliminated or reversed. The preferences for mercifulness vs. mercilessness (experiment 1), honesty vs. dishonesty (experiment 2), sexual fidelity vs. infidelity (experiment 3), and altruism vs. selfishness (experiment 4) were all found to be conditional. These findings oppose the consensus view that people have a dominant preference for moral vs. immoral traits in others. Our findings also speak to nativist and empiricist theories of social preferences and the stability of the “social contract” underlying productive human societies.
