When you've done something rather green and virtuous, like wearing that extra jumper, using those life-time bags, or riding to work on the bike, do you then reward yourself in some way? Perhaps in quite an ungreen way? If so, you're not alone as this Stanford study illustrates.
Here's another example in an abstract of a 2009 Canadian study:
Consumer choices not only reflect price and quality preferences but also social and moral values as witnessed in the remarkable growth of the global market for organic and environmentally friendly products. Building on recent research on behavioral priming and moral regulation, we find that mere exposure to green products and the purchase of them lead to markedly different behavioral consequences. In line with the halo associated with green consumerism, people act more altruistically after mere exposure to green than conventional products. However, people act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products as opposed to conventional products. Together, the studies show that consumption is more tightly connected to our social and ethical behaviors in directions and domains other than previously thought.
This sort of indulgence (I am not immune!) is not quite the opposite of acts like carbon offsetting and the like which are often quite public displays of virtue. Moral licensing, by contrast, seems inherently a more private act. Go on! Now, you're worth it.
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