Self-control predicts moral behavior. Traditional theory explains this finding by suggesting self-control works to inhibit antisocial impulses, which everyone experiences. However, Aristotle argued that by practicing virtue, people’s moral thoughts, feelings, and actions align such that they no longer experience antisocial impulses. Moreover, self-control is associated with experiences of weaker temptation and reduced conflict when selecting value-consistent choices in non-moral domains. Therefore, we suggest that, rather than increased inhibition, reductions in temptation partially account for the link between self-control and value-consistent, unselfish decisions in the moral domain. Study 1 supported the reduction hypothesis and demonstrated greater harmony among the morally-relevant thoughts, feelings, and decisions of people higher (vs. lower) in trait self-control. Study 2 (preregistered) conceptually replicated Study 1 by employing an online, behavioral measure of temptation across more numerous moral decisions: mouse tracking. Study 3 (preregistered) extended Study 2 by also examining the strategies those high in self-control employ to automatically pursue goals, here in the moral domain—namely, moral habits and the construal of immoral acts as impossible. Study 3 replicated the finding that people high (versus low) in self-control more often make unselfish choices on proscriptive (ought not) moral decisions and extended this finding to prescriptive (ought to) moral choices, but did not replicate the finding that people higher, versus low, in self-control display less moral temptation. Together, findings suggest that self-control facilitates the integration of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with moral values, and may aid the automatization of their application, consistent with Aristotle’s conception of virtue.
