When Fast Thinking Meets Bad Emotion: The Effect of Intuitive Processing Modes and Negative Moods on Moral Hypocrisy

Moral hypocrisy characterized by “double standards” at the interpersonal level and “value-behavior inconsistency” at the intrapersonal level. The inconsistency in previous findings regarding the effects of intuitive processing modes on interpersonal moral hypocrisy may stem from differences in ego depletion and cognitive load. In three studies, we investigate the effects of intuitive processing modes and negative moods on moral hypocrisy. Study 1 explored the effects of these two intuitive processing modes on interpersonal hypocrisy. Study 2 further examined the combined influence of negative moods and intuitive processing modes on interpersonal hypocrisy, whereas Study 3 extended this framework from interpersonal hypocrisy to intrapersonal hypocrisy. We found that (a) under neutral mood conditions, cognitive load significantly reduced interpersonal and intrapersonal moral hypocrisy; (b) at the same time, ego depletion significantly increased interpersonal moral hypocrisy, whereas only marginally increased intrapersonal moral hypocrisy (p = 0.053); (c) under negative mood conditions, both intuitive processing modes increased interpersonal moral hypocrisy, but did not significantly increase intrapersonal moral hypocrisy. We further delineated the influence of distinct intuitive processing modes on moral hypocrisy.