Moral licensing
Etymology
The term arose in social psychology in the 2000s, with “license” carrying its sense of permission granted (from Latin “licere,” “to be allowed”). Experiments showed, for instance, that people who first affirmed their lack of prejudice then felt freer to make biased judgments.
noun phrase · /MOR-ul LYE-sun-sing/
The tendency to allow yourself a bad act after doing a good one, as if virtue earned a credit to spend.
What it names
The mental accounting by which past good behavior loosens our standards for the next choice.
Example
“I exercised this morning, so I deserve dessert” is everyday moral licensing.
Related idea
Moral licensing lets a past good deed excuse a later lapse; virtue signalling instead performs goodness for an audience without the deed, and cognitive dissonance is the discomfort felt when acts and self-image clash.