HONORABLE INTENTIONS VERSUS PRAISEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENTS - THE IMPACTOF MOTIVES AND OUTCOMES ON THE MORAL SELF

A centuries-old philosophical issue-Do honorable intentions make an ac tion praise-worthy or is the best action one that generates the greate st good for the greatest number?-was examined by telling subjects who were working to earn money for themselves or a charity that they succe eded or failed at the task. Confirming predictions derived from person al moral philosophy theory, idealistic individuals who stress the impo rtance of fundamental moral principles (absolutists) felt the most pos itive about their own morality when they were working for a charity, i rrespective of the consequences of their actions. Principled individua ls who were not idealistic (exceptionists), however, reported feeling distressed when laboring for a charity rather than themselves and the most morally virtuous when they performed badly when working for perso nal gain. Relativistic subjects (situationists and subjectivists) did not rate themselves as positively when working for a charity. These fi ndings indicate that, at the psychological level, individuals consider both intentions and consequences when evaluating their own moral succ esses and failures, but they differ in the weight that they assign to these two factors.