The Observer-Dependent Conscience Hypothesis™

This paper proposes the Observer-Dependent Conscience Hypothesis™, a conceptual extension of the I / O / i Network Hypothesis™. It asks whether individuals differ in the extent to which ethical behavior is regulated by internalized moral standards versus anticipated external observation. The central prediction is not that any class of people lacks a conscience, but that observability may affect behavioral consistency more strongly for some individuals than others. The paper distinguishes moral knowledge, self-regulation, and moral emotion; describes three provisional interpretive orientations (O, I, and i); and outlines testable predictions involving public accountability, private decision-making, moral identity, and network validation. The model is situated alongside established research on moral identity, moral disengagement, and moral hypocrisy. No original participant data are presented. The proposed categories have not been validated as psychological types, and the hypothesis is offered as a falsifiable research agenda rather than a finding.