Just being around green products can make us behave more altruistically, a new study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science has found.
But buying those same products can have the opposite effect. Researchers found that buying green can lead people into less altruistic behaviour, and even make them more likely to steal and lie than after buying conventional products. Buying products that claim to be made with low environmental impact can set up “moral credentials†in people’s minds that give license to selfish or questionable behavior.
The findings break down like this: Greenies believe that because they’re more “correct” with their purchases and/or lifestyle, they can be less moral in other areas, such as money and honesty to others.
I guess they’re just living by the AlGore example.