What is the term for thinking of oneself as moral that licenses fewer restrictions on behavior?

• A. Moral Credential Effect
• B. Risk Compensation
• C. Omission Bias
• D. Negativity Bias

Answer: (A)

It's about moral licensing: after doing something you perceive as morally good, you feel you’ve earned moral “credits,” which can license you to act with fewer restrictions later. This idea is captured by the Moral Credential Effect—the sense that a prior good deed lowers the perceived need to constrain future behavior, reducing guilt or self-regulation costs.

Risk compensation involves adjusting behavior based on perceived risk (like driving faster after buckling a seatbelt) and isn’t about feeling morally credentialed. Omission bias is about preferring inaction to action to avoid potential harm, not about earning moral permission. Negativity bias is the tendency to focus more on negative information, not about earning moral leeway through prior virtue.