Dishonesty in the presence of moral emotions
Published in , 2020
Acts of dishonesty, such as corruption, are considered one of the main country-level problems in Peru. The main objective of this research was to evaluate interventions designed to reduce dishonesty, as well as to explore the psychological mechanisms that could be involved. Through the conduction of two experiments, we wanted to evaluate whether including the pictures of identifiable victims could reduce dishonesty. The first study was conducted in person with the general public (n = 40) in a shopping center; the second, online with university students (n = 100) from a private university in Lima. To assess dishonesty, participants performed the “die task” 20 times in both studies. The degree of dishonesty was measured in aggregate, at the group level. The results of study 1 and 2 show findings that differ from each other. On the one hand, the results of Study 1 show that participants assigned to one of the experimental conditions lied to benefit a single victim, at the expense of their personal financial gains. On the other hand, the results of Study 2 show that participants assigned to the same experimental condition lied to benefit themselves, but lied less than participants assigned to the control condition. The presence of moral emotions possibly generated by the experimental conditions are discussed. Future research will include more precise psychological measurements that allow better identification of the mechanisms of action of the designed interventions.
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