Moral licensing is how doing — or even just intending — something good gives us subconscious permission to act worse afterward. Examples:
What is moral licensing? Read the full idea →Ordering a healthy main 'earns' the indulgent dessert.
One eco-friendly choice quietly licenses a wasteful one right after.
A good deed becomes credit you spend against the next ask.
The morning gym session licenses a lazy, junk-filled rest of the day.
Doing one fair thing can make a group feel it's done enough, and ease off.
That's just how memory works. Lock moral licensing in with a 5-minute active-recall session — spaced repetition, no signup.
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