Because we are all subject to the self-serving bias, we tend to gather, process, and remember information in ways that support our own pre-existing beliefs or create outcomes that serve our own self-interest. As novelist Upton Sinclair wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” One aspect of the self-serving bias is called motivated blindness.
Motivated blindness describes the often-unconscious tendency we have to fail to notice the wrongdoing of others when noticing it would be inconsistent with our own self-interest. Thus, we tend to ignore wrongdoing by family members and close friends.
Motivated blindness not only shows up in personal relationships, it is widespread in other areas of life, too. As professors Tenbrunsel and Bazerman note, accounting firm Arthur Andersen was highly motivated to ignore the financial shenanigans of its most profitable client, Enron. Similarly, company executives have overlooked star employees’ sexually harassing behavior, where they might have noticed (and punished) similar conduct by employees of average ability.
Likewise, the San Francisco Giants’ front office personnel were motivated to turn a blind eye to their superstar Barry Bonds’ obvious steroid use. And higher-ups in the Catholic Church seem to have been blind to the rampant sexual abuse of their parishioners by priests.
The bottom line is all of us can ignore immoral behavior, especially when doing so serves our own self-interest. So, to see things clearly and to safeguard our integrity, we would be wise to keep an eye on motivated blindness.