This article investigates the effect of others' prior nonprejudiced behavior on an individual's
subsequent behavior. Five studies supported the hypothesis that people are more willing to …

Three experiments supported the hypothesis that people are more willing to express
attitudes that could be viewed as prejudiced when their past behavior has established their …

People express more prejudice if they have established their “moral credentials.” Five
studies explored the acquisition of moral credentials through associations with racial …

Moral credentials are pieces of evidence accrued by individuals that can later be presented,
intentionally or unintentionally, as a record of their lack of prejudice (B. Monin & DT Miller …

Moral credentials establish one's virtue and license one to act in morally disreputable ways
with impunity (Monin & Miller, 2001). We propose that when people anticipate doing …

Moral licensing, whereby behaving morally allows a person to subsequently behave
immorally, has been demonstrated in numerous experiments. The current research …

Seven studies demonstrate that threats to moral identity can increase how definitively
people think they have previously proven their morality. When White participants were made …

Six experiments examined how people strategically use thoughts of foregone misdeeds to
regulate their moral behavior. We tested 2 hypotheses: 1st, that people will feel licensed to …

Three studies tested whether the opportunity to endorse Barack Obama made individuals
subsequently more likely to favor Whites over Blacks. In Study 1, participants were more …

When other ingroup members behave immorally, people's motivation to maintain a moral
group image may cause them to experience increased threat and act defensively in …