The role of moral identity in the salience of the prescriptive and proscriptive systems of moral self-regulation

Abstract

ABSTRACT There are two fundamental self-regulatory systems for moral action reflecting an approach-oriented system promoting moral action (prescriptive morality) and an avoidance-oriented system restraining immoral action (proscriptive morality). Despite the presence of these systems, individuals may vary in the extent to which the systems regulate their moral responses. One factor that may heighten prescriptive and proscriptive moral self-regulation is individuals’ moral identity. Three studies examined if the systems of moral regulation are more salient among individuals with a strong internalized moral identity. Possessing a strong internalized moral identity was associated with greater salience of the prescriptive system – with heightened perceptions that prescriptive behaviors should be enacted, that prescriptive behaviors are less a matter of personal preference, and that prescriptive behaviors are expected to yield greater social approval – compared to the proscriptive system. Possessing a strong internalized moral identity appears to orient individuals toward engaging in good (rather than only avoiding bad) behaviors.