Concept
…a lie is not a lie if you believe in it!!.. — Seinfeld The Beard
Self — Justification is the defensive mechanism which comes into the play to make one “ feel good” when one’s mind thinks about the act one is indulging itself may not be “correct”, according to his or her own values or experiences. In this state, people convince themselves that whatever they are doing or did is “ not wrong”. During these states, people tend to convince themselves by presenting themselves with facts which may be true in some scenarios or by ignoring the data which may reduce their conformity.
Is self-justification dangerous? Well, it depends on the situation, a very famous saying — “It’s not a lie if it helps someone “ makes a very strong case against self-justification being dangerous. But it is not the case every time, for instance, an act of adultery is not morally correct but people tend to self-justify their acts and live with it.
Example
I have chosen a clip from a famous American TV series — Friends [1994–2004]. This clip has three examples showing the self — justification in three different scenarios for three different pairs. Following are the links for the same video — part 1[ends at 0:30]; part 2[starts at 2:30]; part 3[starts at 4:20] (Videos, 2016). In the first part, the couple is trying to pre-justify, collectively, to break one of their promises to get a benefit but, in a way, can still keep the promise. In the second part, the guy is pre-justifying himself for an immoral act which he wants to indulge in. In the last part, the lady is trying to post-justify about an act which she just committed.
Relevance
I believe this example explains well about the two points in time where self-justification kicks in. This Figure explains in a diagrammatic manner the two routes in which the brain takes to fulfil its desire to be right. According to the sources (Shaul Shalvi, 2015), the two “ violations”- post and pre, are the two different ways to justify. Making excuses and confirming without factual data are results of pre-justification and making oneself believe about the correctness of their act is an instance of post-justification.
To conclude this small article, I urge everyone to take a moment while justifying yourself in future using either a post-justification route or a pre-justification route. If you are in pre-state, you still have all the chance in the world to stop yourself. Post-justification will only make you feel better for a while until you do it again.
References
Shaul Shalvi, F. G. (2015). Self-Serving Justifications: Doing Wrong and Feeling Mora. APS: Association for Psychological Science, 6.
Videos, F. (25 de October de 2016). YouTube. Obtido de YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ-tkJHTGrk
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