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Motivated misremembering of selfish decisions

Author

Listed:
  • Ryan W. Carlson

    (Yale University)

  • Michel André Maréchal

    (University of Zurich)

  • Bastiaan Oud

    (University of Zurich)

  • Ernst Fehr

    (University of Zurich)

  • Molly J. Crockett

    (Yale University)

Abstract

People often prioritize their own interests, but also like to see themselves as moral. How do individuals resolve this tension? One way to both pursue personal gain and preserve a moral self-image is to misremember the extent of one’s selfishness. Here, we test this possibility. Across five experiments (N = 3190), we find that people tend to recall being more generous in the past than they actually were, even when they are incentivized to recall their decisions accurately. Crucially, this motivated misremembering effect occurs chiefly for individuals whose choices violate their own fairness standards, irrespective of how high or low those standards are. Moreover, this effect disappears under conditions where people no longer perceive themselves as responsible for their fairness violations. Together, these findings suggest that when people’s actions fall short of their personal standards, they may misremember the extent of their selfishness, thereby potentially warding off threats to their moral self-image.

Suggested Citation

  • Ryan W. Carlson & Michel André Maréchal & Bastiaan Oud & Ernst Fehr & Molly J. Crockett, 2020. "Motivated misremembering of selfish decisions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-15602-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15602-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Anders Anderson & David T Robinson, 2022. "Financial Literacy in the Age of Green Investment [Evaluating behaviorally motivated policy: experimental evidence from the lightbulb market]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1551-1584.
    2. Silvia Saccardo & Marta Serra-Garcia, 2020. "Cognitive Flexibility or Moral Commitment? Evidence of Anticipated Belief Distortion," CESifo Working Paper Series 8529, CESifo.
    3. Jeanne Hagenbach & Charlotte Saucet, 2024. "Motivated Skepticism," Working Papers hal-03770685, HAL.
    4. Huffman, David B. & Raymond, Collin & Shvets, Julia, 2023. "Persistent Overconfidence and Biased Memory: Evidence from Managers," IZA Discussion Papers 16283, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Jeanne Hagenbach & Charlotte Saucet, 2024. "Motivated Skepticism," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-03770685, HAL.
    6. Islam, Marco, 2021. "Motivated Risk Assessments," Working Papers 2021:12, Lund University, Department of Economics, revised 26 Jul 2022.
    7. Andrea Amelio & Florian Zimmermann, 2023. "Motivated Memory in Economics—A Review," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Katrin Gödker & Terrance Odean & Paul Smeets, 2023. "Disposed to Be Overconfident," CESifo Working Paper Series 10357, CESifo.
    9. Jeanne Hagenbach & Charlotte Saucet, 2024. "Motivated Skepticism," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03770685, HAL.
    10. Adrián Caballero & R. López-Pérez, 2020. "Self-serving recall is not a sufficient cause of optimism: An experiment," Working Papers 2005, Instituto de Políticas y Bienes Públicos (IPP), CSIC.
    11. Hillenbrand, Adrian & Verrina, Eugenio, 2022. "The asymmetric effect of narratives on prosocial behavior," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 241-270.

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