Negative views of transgressors can be countered by them thinking that unethical behavior is morally unacceptable & emotions such as guilt; there is a moral superadditivity effect: less negative views from combination

Paruzel-Czachura, Mariola, and Michal Bialek. 2020. “The Moral Superadditivity Effect: Transgressors’ Beliefs and Emotions Influence the Perception of Their Morality.” PsyArXiv. May 28. doi:10.31234/osf.io/e8nbt

Abstract: Negative impressions of moral transgressors can be countered by them expressing socially desirable beliefs (thinking that unethical behavior is morally unacceptable) and emotions (such as guilt). Across four experiments with N = 1178, we establish a moral superadditivity effect, whereby jointly signaling socially desirable beliefs and emotions adds more than one could gain from them separately. This effect is visible when directly comparing the moral character of several transgressors (Studies 1 and 2) but disappears when judging them independently (Studies 3 and 4). Additionally, internal metanalysis showed that the benefits of expressing guilt and desirable beliefs are of similar strength, and that both are much larger when participants compare different types of transgressors directly.