Society suffers when people stay silent on moral issues. Yet people who engage morally may appear hypocritical if they behave imperfectly themselves. Research reveals that hypocrites can—but do not always—trigger a “hypocrisy penalty,” whereby they are evaluated as more immoral than ordinary (non-hypocritical) wrongdoers. This pattern reflects that moral engagement can confer reputational benefits, but can also carry reputational costs when paired with inconsistent moral conduct. We discuss mechanisms underlying these costs and benefits, illuminating when hypocrisy is (and is not) evaluated negatively. Our review highlights the role that dishonesty and other factors play in engendering disdain for hypocrites, and offers suggestions for how, in a world where nobody is perfect, people can engage morally without generating backlash.

当人们在道德问题上保持沉默时，社会就会受到影响。然而，如果他们自己的行为不完美，道德参与的人可能会显得虚伪。研究表明，伪君子可以——但并不总是——引发“伪善惩罚”，即他们被评价为比普通（非伪善）不法者更不道德。这种模式反映了道德参与可以带来声誉收益，但也可能带来声誉成本。当与不一致的道德行为配对时。我们讨论了这些成本和收益背后的机制，阐明了何时（或未）对虚伪进行了负面评价。我们的评论强调了不诚实和其他因素在引起对伪君子的蔑视中所起的作用，并就在没有人是完美的世界中，人们如何能够在不引起强烈反对的情况下进行道德参与提供建议。