How Moral Are You?
Last November, traffic came to a stop on a Southern California freeway when cash scattered across the highway. Apparently, a door of an armored car unexpectedly swung open and spilled bags of cash, mostly $1 and $20 bills. Bypassing vehicle drivers and passengers jumped out of their vehicles to grab what they could. Some people returned the money, others pocketed the cash.
What would you do? Just how moral are you? You will consider various factors when making a decision. Is it stealing if you keep it? Are you a sucker if you return it? It is a moral dilemma.
A research project planted wallets for others to find and tracked their response. They found that people are more likely to return lost wallets containing money. And the more money, the better the chances people will return it. Nina Mazar, a behavioral scientist at Boston University, unrelated to this study said, “It actually matters that people have morals and they like to think of themselves as good human beings.”
Most of us consider morality an admirable trait. Yet some people judge do-gooders harshly. Incredibly kind and morally upright people are often met with skepticism. There may be a suspicion that they are trying to build social capital and status that comes from a good reputation. Competitive people don’t want them getting ahead. Surprisingly, this happens so often that there’s a name for it – “do-gooder derogation.” Rather than share your good deeds, research indicates that you should err on the side of modesty to avoid negative attribution.
Do you believe that your moral standards are higher than others? Ben M. Tappin and Ryan T. McKay of the National Institutes of Health wrote an article, The Illusion of Moral Superiority. In it, they propose that most people strongly believe they are just, virtuous, and moral, yet regard the average person as distinctly less so. Their study found that moral superiority comprised a substantial irrational component. Virtually all individuals irrationally inflated their moral qualities.
I, like others, assume that I am more virtuous and moral than the average person. So I checked it out on an online quiz. I was assessed as “Completely Moral”. The feedback I received was as follows: “Okay, wait a minute, are you sure you aren’t a priest or a minister or something? You’re about the most moral person around. It is really important to you that you do the right thing and never even consider doing anything wrong. People in your life trust you and look up to you. Your moral compass is rock solid.” Perhaps I’m being irrational, but in fact, I studied for the ministry and dedicated my life to the social services field. So that makes me a bit different from others. If you want to check out your moral standing, take the quiz at howstuffworks.com/quiz/this-quiz-will-officially-determine-how-moral-you-are.
One of my pet peeves is “return abuse”, when someone purchases products without intending to keep them. Purchasing a piece of wardrobe for example, with the intent to wear it once and return it, is fraud. Return fraud can occur in many ways, such as the misuse of receipts, returning stolen merchandise, and price switching. It is also theft to accept too much change in a shop. Hand it back.
In case you are not clear, it is a crime to take money that doesn’t belong to you, even if it drops from the sky. Videos captured faces and license plates during the above mentioned Southern California frenzy, and the FBI is investigating. The police want it back. Highway Patrol warned those who seized the money to turn it in. Two people were arrested at the scene, and some turned in their collection.
Lauren Baldwin, criminaldefenselawyer.com, says that if a law requires that you turn over money you have found to the police and you do not do so, you could be charged with larceny or theft. Even though you did not steal the money by taking it directly from its owner, you are holding the money and not trying to return it. Holding or possessing property that you know does not belong to you also constitutes theft or larceny under most state laws.
Do high moral standards make one mentally healthy? Not entirely, but there is a positive link between happiness and prosocial behaviors such as donating money and doing volunteer work. Helping others is a significant predictor of mental health. Deliberate daily acts of kindness are shown to increase life satisfaction and would therefore decrease emotional distress.