Corruption and virtue: Do “caring” virtues make us more unfair?

Do certain types of virtues make us susceptible to unvirtuous behavior? For example, does the Confucian virtue of filial piety-- and its requirement to "love with distinction"-- encourage corruption? Despite the intuitively appealing nature of the accusation, we argue that being highly filial, as a virtue, should in fact protect one from temptations to participate in corruption; but conversely, it may morally motivate one to help particular others in one’s social circle (particularism), especially if the social institutions of one’s surroundings are inadequate. In a series of studies in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the USA, we find that while “cold” virtues (such as being principled) make one less likely to engage in particularism, “warm” virtues (such as being sympathetic and caring, or being filial) have more ambiguous effects. By themselves, all virtues are negatively predictive of both particularism (such as giving in to a relative’s request to be given an advantage over others) and corruption (such as accepting a bribe to give an advantage to one person over others), and those who are high in “warm” virtues also tend to be high in “cold” virtues. But when controlling for one another, only cold virtues are protective against the temptation to engage in unfair actions, while warm virtues are not. The results suggest that not all virtues are alike. Compared to virtues that specifically endorse universalistic fairness, which are consistently associated with refusing particularistic or corruptive requests, caring and filial virtues are less protective. Unfair behavior may be prompted by genuine moral conflict. Copyright © 2021 IACCP.