The balance of self-approval against social censure decides whether principled action proceeds

Evidence

Another type of conflict between social and self-outcomes arises when individuals are punished for activities they value highly. Principled dissenters and nonconformists often find themselves in such predicaments. The relative strengths of self-approval and external censure determine whether a course of action will be pursued or abandoned. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 125

Categorization

• QUESTION: Bandura asserts strength comparison determines pursuit/abandonment, but how are the two forces weighed or measured psychological? Worth chasing operational detail.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 125