The Theory of Bounded Ethicality and knowledge of human motivation systems

Abstract

The Theory of Bounded Ethicality postulates that in situations involving consequences for self and/or others people make ethical decisions that bring self- -oriented motivational forces to bear on decision-making. These ethical decisions are biased by a stubborn view of oneself, as moral, competent, and deserving and thus, not susceptible to conflicts of interest. People unconsciously favor this particular vision of the self being unaware of data that may contradict it. This conception of ethical decision making seems to imply that self-oriented motivation plays a dominant role in regulation of human behavior. But there are good theoretical reasons for questioning this view. In the paper, I describe three different research programs that may illustrate operation of the three different  motivational systems – only one of them seems to corresponds with the Bounded Ethicality model. It means that that “bounded ethicality“ may appear in pure  form  in specific situations – when self system is activated by specific egxogenous and  endogenous factors while other systems are not remain in the latent state.