Tenbrunsel, A. E., & Messick, D. M. (2004).
Social Justice Research, 17(2), 223–236.
Abstract
This paper examines the root of unethical dicisions by identifying the psychological forces that promote self-deception. Self-deception allows one to behave self-interestedly while, at the same time, falsely believing that one's moral principles were upheld. The end result of this internal con game is that the ethical aspects of the decision “fade” into the background, the moral implications obscured. In this paper we identify four enablers of self-deception, including language euphemisms, the slippery slope of decision-making, errors in perceptual causation, and constraints induced by representations of the self. We argue that current solutions to unethical behaviors in organizations, such as ethics training, do not consider the important role of these enablers and hence will be constrained in their potential, producing only limited effectiveness. Amendments to these solutions, which do consider the powerful role of self-deception in unethical decisions, are offered.
Here are some thoughts:
For psychologists, the concept of ethical fading is vital because it reveals the unconscious cognitive and emotional processes that allow otherwise principled individuals to act unethically. Tenbrunsel and Messick’s identification of four self-deception enablers—euphemistic language that obscures harm, the slippery-slope effect that numbs moral sensitivity, biased causal attributions that deflect blame, and self-serving self-representations—aligns closely with established constructs in social and cognitive psychology such as motivated reasoning, framing effects, and defense mechanisms . By understanding how moral considerations “fade” from awareness, psychologists can refine theories of moral cognition and affect, deepening insight into how people justify or conceal unethical behavior.
This framework also carries significant practical and research implications. In organizational and clinical settings, psychologists can design interventions that counteract ethical fading—reshaping decision frames, interrupting incremental justifications, and exposing hidden biases—rather than relying solely on traditional ethics education. Moreover, it opens new avenues for empirical study, from measuring the conditions under which moral colors dim to testing strategies that re-salientize ethical concerns, thereby advancing both applied and theoretical knowledge in the psychology of morality and self-deception.
