I don’t think that you have reason to assume that the short term effects are the same effects as the long term effects.
We behave on average like the person we think we are. A single good action doesn’t result in updating our self identity and it’s easier to just update the other actions to be the person you think you are in the short term.
In the long term however, doing good things changes your self image in a way where you think that you are the kind of person who does good things.
I don’t think that you have reason to assume that the short term effects are the same effects as the long term effects.
We behave on average like the person we think we are. A single good action doesn’t result in updating our self identity and it’s easier to just update the other actions to be the person you think you are in the short term. In the long term however, doing good things changes your self image in a way where you think that you are the kind of person who does good things.