何以应对道德自我威胁?道德记忆偏差的视角

How to cope with the threat to moral self? The perspectives of memory bias in moral contexts

人们会做出一些不道德的事情,这可能对他们积极的道德自我概念构成威胁。为了应对这种道德自我威胁,人们会表现出道德记忆偏差,即遗忘威胁道德自我的不道德事件或信息。近年来,研究者基于自传体记忆范式、游戏范式、代入范式和自我参照范式,为道德记忆偏差提供了证据支持。研究还进一步表明,这种道德记忆偏差可能出于人们应对道德自我威胁的需要。值得注意的是,道德记忆偏差的存在可能需要一定条件。未来研究应该扩展道德记忆偏差的研究范畴,揭示其认知机制,并探究与其他应对道德自我威胁策略的关系。

People sometimes behave unethically,which may threaten their self-concept of being moral.To cope with the threat to the moral self,people would forget these past unethical actions or related information more easily.Recent research using autobiographical memory paradigm,game paradigm,take-in paradigm,and self-reference memory paradigm provides evidence for this memory bias.Moreover,research suggest that this memory bias results from people’s need to cope with the threat to their moral self.That is,people selectively forget their unethical behaviors to maintain a positive moral self.Notably,it is only under certain conditions that this memory bias occurs.Future research should provide much more convergent evidence for the phenomenon,examine its underlying neural and cognitive mechanisms,and explore its relationships with other strategies that people use to cope with the threat to their moral self.