Which term is another name for the Moral Credential Effect?

• A. Moral Licensing
• B. Self-Serving Bias
• C. Framing Effect
• D. Availability Heuristic

Answer: (A)

Prior moral actions can create a sense of license for later behavior. This is the idea behind the Moral Credential Effect: after doing something morally good, people feel they’ve earned “moral credits” and are allowed to act less morally afterward. The term commonly used for this phenomenon is Moral Licensing, which captures the notion that prior good deeds provide justification or leeway for subsequent questionable decisions. For example, someone who has just publicly advocated for fairness might feel comfortable bending the rules later, believing their earlier stance balances out the misstep. The other biases describe different processes—Self-Serving Bias involves attributing outcomes to oneself or luck to protect self-esteem, Framing Effect shows how presentation affects choices, and Availability Heuristic relies on how readily examples come to mind. None of these describe earning license through prior moral actions in the way Moral Licensing does.