Noble Cause Corruption
Moral Credential Effect
Confidence in one's self-image tends to make one less worried about the consequences of subsequent immoral behavior, thus making one more likely to make immoral choices.
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Origin
The effect was named and experimentally demonstrated by Benoît Monin and Dale T. Miller in a 2001 paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Conducted while Monin was a graduate researcher at Princeton University, three experiments showed that participants who had recently acted in a demonstrably non-prejudiced way were subsequently more willing to express biased preferences. The concept was later broadened under the label "self-licensing" to cover consumer behavior, organizational ethics, and public policy.
Updated February 22, 2026