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Sweatshop labor is wrong unless the shoes are cute: Cognition can both help and hurt moral motivated reasoning

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  • Paharia, Neeru
  • Vohs, Kathleen D.
  • Deshpandé, Rohit

Abstract

The present research investigated the dual role of cognition as either an enabler of moral reasoning or self-interested motivated reasoning for endorsing sweatshop labor. Experiment 1A showed motivated reasoning: participants were more likely to endorse the use of sweatshop labor when considering a Caribbean vacation with questionable labor practices for themselves than for their friends. Experiment 1B demonstrated that endorsement of sweatshop labor mediated the relationship between product desirability and purchase intention. Experiment 2 found that cognitive resources were recruited to enhance motivated reasoning regarding sweatshop labor, the latter of which was reduced under cognitive load. Experiments 3A and 3B found that when cognitive resources were specifically directed in a comparative joint evaluation, participants offered harsher views on the ethicality of a favored company, and were less influenced by motivated factors than when under separate evaluations.

Suggested Citation

  • Paharia, Neeru & Vohs, Kathleen D. & Deshpandé, Rohit, 2013. "Sweatshop labor is wrong unless the shoes are cute: Cognition can both help and hurt moral motivated reasoning," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 81-88.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:121:y:2013:i:1:p:81-88
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.01.001
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    9. Noval, Laura J., 2016. "On the misguided pursuit of happiness and ethical decision making: The roles of focalism and the impact bias in unethical and selfish behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1-16.
    10. Richard Völker & Sven Grüner, 2023. "Animal protection and information avoidance," Chapters, in: Cass R. Sunstein & Lucia A. Reisch (ed.), Research Handbook on Nudges and Society, chapter 7, pages 109-128, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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    14. Pettit, Nathan C. & Doyle, Sarah P. & Lount, Robert B. & To, Christopher, 2016. "Cheating to get ahead or to avoid falling behind? The effect of potential negative versus positive status change on unethical behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 172-183.
    15. Yam, Kai Chi & Chen, Xiao-Ping & Reynolds, Scott J., 2014. "Ego depletion and its paradoxical effects on ethical decision making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 124(2), pages 204-214.
    16. Katharine M. Howie & Lifeng Yang & Scott J. Vitell & Victoria Bush & Doug Vorhies, 2018. "Consumer Participation in Cause-Related Marketing: An Examination of Effort Demands and Defensive Denial," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 679-692, February.
    17. Maxwell-Smith, Matthew A. & Barnett White, Tiffany & Loyd, Denise Lewin, 2020. "Does perceived treatment of unfamiliar employees affect consumer brand attitudes? Social dominance ideologies reveal who cares the most and why," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 461-471.
    18. Tim Kraft & León Valdés & Yanchong Zheng, 2018. "Supply Chain Visibility and Social Responsibility: Investigating Consumers’ Behaviors and Motives," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 617-636, October.
    19. Russell Golman & David Hagmann & George Loewenstein, 2017. "Information Avoidance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(1), pages 96-135, March.
    20. Shalini Sarin Jain & Shailendra Pratap Jain & Yexin Jessica Li, 2023. "Sustaining Livelihoods or Saving Lives? Economic System Justification in the Time of COVID-19," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 71-104, February.
    21. Shadnam, Masoud, 2020. "Choosing whom to be: Theorizing the scene of moral reflexivity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 12-23.
    22. Remi Trudel & Jill Klein & Sankar Sen & Niraj Dawar, 2020. "Feeling Good by Doing Good: A Selfish Motivation for Ethical Choice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(1), pages 39-49, September.
    23. Allison R. Johnson & Valerie S. Folkes & Juan Wang, 2018. "When one bad apple spoils consumers’ judgment of the brand: exposure to an employee’s non-workplace transgression and potential remedies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 725-743, July.
    24. Moore, Celia & Tenbrunsel, Ann E., 2014. "“Just think about it”? Cognitive complexity and moral choice," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 138-149.

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