This question has three parts; be sure to answer all three. First, contrast the "holier-than-thou" effect and motivated blindness. Second, explain how both concepts might apply to the following situation: "Glenn is the president of the senior class, and he is having a very busy semester, trying to balance his coursework and his internship at a major company. He can't find the time he needs to write a term paper for his history course. To save himself time, he decides to buy a prewritten paper from a website that sells papers for a hefty fee." Third, explain the dynamics behind cheating.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The "holier-than-thou" effect: Science writer Benedict Carey suggests, "People tend to be overly optimistic about their own abilities and fortunes—to overestimate their standing in class, their discipline, their sincerity. . . . But this self-inflating bias may be even stronger when it comes to moral judgment." In Glenn's case, the holier-than-thou effect may result in Glenn not questioning his own moral judgment. He may believe that as senior class president, he has the right to take shortcuts because the entire senior class benefits when Glenn works on their behalf. He may also feel that buying a term paper from the Internet is not at all immoral; he may see it as a necessity that helps him get everything done (rather than as cheating).

Motivated blindness: This is the tendency to overlook information that works against our best interest. "People who have a vested self-interest, even the most honest among us, have difficulty being objective," says one report. "Worse yet, they fail to recognize their lack of objectivity." Motivated blindness enables us to behave unethically while maintaining a positive self-image. Glenn has an internship with a good company, so he is clearly motivated to make contacts and have a career. Doing well in his history course is in his self-interest, because he needs a good GPA to get called for job interviews. In short, he is motivated to buy the term paper by self-interest and has difficulty being objective about this decision.

The dynamics behind cheating: Habitual cheating, Carey suggests, "begins with small infractions—illegally downloading a few songs, skimming small amounts from the register, lies of omission on taxes—and grows by increments." As success is rewarded, these "small infractions" can burgeon into an ongoing deliberate strategy of deception or fraud. Buying the term paper can become a slippery slope for Glenn. If he cheats and does not get caught, he may be tempted to take additional "shortcuts" in the future. These shortcuts may involve cheating or fraud at the company that hires him.