Psychology: Techniques and Application

Psychology: Techniques and Application ›› 2026, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (1): 13-21.

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The Unethical Amnesia Effect of Unethical Pro-Organizational Behaviors

  

  1. School of Sociology, Nankai University
  • Accepted:2025-11-15 Online:2025-12-25 Published:2025-12-25

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Abstract:

Unethical amnesia refers to a phenomenon where individuals exhibit more blurred and vague memories when recalling their own daily moral transgressions. Using a virtual scenario gaming paradigm, a 2 (benefit orientation: organizational vs. personal)×2 (behavior type: ethical vs. unethical) between-subjects experimental design was employed to investigate whether engaging in unethical pro-organizational behavior triggers unethical amnesia. The results revealed that, compared to ethical behaviors, participants exhibited significantly reduced subjective memory clarity when recalling both organization-oriented and self-oriented unethical behaviors, indicating that unethical pro-organizational behaviors can also induce unethical amnesia in subjective memory. This study extends the theoretical scope of unethical amnesia and demonstrates that, even when behavioral motivation is driven by collective interests, individuals may rely on defensive memory processes to protect their moral self-image.

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CLC Number: 

  • B849
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