Experimental research on sequential moral behavior (SMB) has found that engaging in an initial moral (or immoral) behavior can sometimes lead to moral balancing (i.e., switching between positive and negative behavior) and sometimes to moral consistency (i.e., maintaining a consistent pattern of positive or negative behavior). In two meta-analyses, we present the first comprehensive syntheses of SMB studies and test moderators to identify the conditions under which moral balancing and moral consistency are most likely to occur. Meta-Analysis 1 (k = 217 effect sizes, N = 31,242) revealed that engaging in an initial positive behavior only reliably resulted in moral licensing (i.e., balancing) in studies that measured engagement in negative target behaviors (Hedges' g = 0.25, 95% CI [0.16, 0.44]) and only resulted in positive consistency in foot-in-the-door studies using prosocial requests (Hedges' g = -0.44, 95% CI [-0.59, -0.29]). Meta-Analysis 2 (k = 132 effect sizes, N = 14,443) revealed that engaging in an initial negative behavior only reliably resulted in moral compensation (i.e., balancing) in studies that measured engagement in positive target behaviors (Hedges' g = 0.27, 95% CI [0.18, 0.37]). We found no evidence for reliable negative consistency effects in any conditions. These results cannot be readily explained by current theories of SMB effects, and so further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms that drive moral balancing and consistency under the conditions observed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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过去的道德行为对未来行为的影响：使用元分析技术对连续道德行为研究的回顾。


对顺序道德行为（SMB）的实验研究发现，参与最初的道德（或不道德）行为有时会导致道德平衡（即在积极和消极行为之间切换），有时会导致道德一致性（即保持一致的模式）积极或消极的行为）。在两项荟萃分析中，我们首次对 SMB 研究和测试主持人进行了全面综合，以确定最有可能发生道德平衡和道德一致性的条件。荟萃分析 1（k = 217 效应大小，N = 31,242）表明，在测量消极目标行为参与度的研究中，参与最初的积极行为只能可靠地导致道德许可（即平衡）（Hedges' g = 0.25， 95% CI [0.16, 0.44]），并且仅在使用亲社会请求的实地研究中产生积极的一致性（Hedges' g = -0.44, 95% CI [-0.59, -0.29]）。荟萃分析 2（k = 132 效应量，N = 14,443）表明，在测量积极目标行为参与度的研究中，参与最初的消极行为只能可靠地导致道德补偿（即平衡）（Hedges' g = 0.27， 95% CI [0.18, 0.37]）。我们没有发现任何条件下可靠的负面一致性影响的证据。目前的中小企业效应理论无法轻易解释这些结果，因此需要进一步研究以更好地理解在观察到的条件下推动道德平衡和一致性的机制。 （PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2024 APA，保留所有权利）。