# 49. Manipulation of bias and heuristics in decision making ## 49.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 49.5.41. Moral credential effect This is the tendency of a person's track record of non-prejudice to increase the likelihood of them developing prejudices in the future. Recent studies have lead to the paradoxical conclusion that the act of affirming one's egalitarian or pro-social values and virtues might subsequently facilitate prejudiced or self-serving behaviour; an effect also referred to as "moral credentialing." A manipulator dealing with an ethically virtuous victim can use their ethical track record to persuade them to tend away from their previously unprejudiced attitude. For example, a manipulator may persuade a victim to lie or cheat, in order to achieve something which is morally justified - "the end justifies the means".