Lecture 12: Unethical Behavior

Question 1

(dis)honest behavior in economic games

Answer 1

• put people in an ethical dilemma
• telling truth vs earning more money

Question 2

(dis)honesty in individual settings: meta analysis

Answer 2

participants lie to increase their profits only by 23.4%

Question 3

2 main theoretical approaches

Answer 3

• dishonesty is a function of the likelihood to get caught and the punishment that follows
• dishonesty is a function of serving self-interest while maintaining an honest private and public self-image

Question 4

honest self-image

Answer 4

• we want to see ourselves as honest individuals but still want to increase earnings
• the existence of justifications makes people evaluate dishonest acts as rather ethical

Question 5

counterfactual information

Answer 5

what could have happened if things were a bit different
- die under cup paradigm
- full dishonest vs justified dishonesty

Question 6

prevalence of rule violation (PRV) impact on intrinsic honesty

Answer 6

higher levels of corruption, tax evasion, and political fraud in countries decreases individuals intrinsic honesty

Question 7

(dis)honesty in collaborative settings

Answer 7

• people tend to choose collaboration over honesty
• collaborative settings provide strong justifications for lying
• removing/reducing one group members’ incentive to lie reduces lying
• beginning of an interaction has strong impact on the overall dishonesty
• both honest and dishonest members prefer dishonest partners, who can maximize their profits
• volkswagen scandal
• dyadic die rolling

Question 8

ethical free riding

Answer 8

when seeking a partner, honest people seek an equally honest partner or free-ride their partners’ dishonesty

Question 9

civic honesty around the globe
- honesty vs self-interest

Answer 9

wallet study
- citizens are more likely to return wallets that contained more money
- citizens more likely to return wallets with personal items such as keys
- can be explained by a combination of altruistic concerns and an aversion to viewing oneself as a thief

Question 10

unpunished cheating

Answer 10

if cheating is pervasive in society and often goes unpunished, people might view dishonesty in certain everyday affairs as justifiable without jeopardising their self-concept of being honest

Question 11

degree of lying

Answer 11

depends on the extent to which self-justifications are available
- people seem to derive value from self-justifications allowing them to lie for money while feeling honest

Question 12

magnitude of lying

Answer 12

people limit the magnitude of their lying even when they cannot be caught