Separating Will from Grace: an experiment on conformity and awareness in cheating

TY - UNPB

T1 - Separating Will from Grace

T2 - an experiment on conformity and awareness in cheating

AU - Fosgaard, Toke Reinholt

AU - Hansen, Lars Gårn

AU - Piovesan, Marco

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - In this paper we investigate if people cheat more when they observe their peers cheating because they conform or because they become aware that cheating is something to actively consider. In our experiment subjects toss a coin in private and report the outcome (white or black). We reward only those who report white and leave them the possibility to cheat without being discovered. In our 2x2 experimental design, we manipulated subjects’ report sheet to i) suggest (or not) that cheating is an option; ii) suggest that their peers were honest (or dishonest). We find that increasing awareness of cheating as an option significantly increases the probability that women cheat; whereas men – who are already aware that cheating is an option - are not affected. When we suggest that peers have cheated, men cheat significantly more, whereas women do not.

AB - In this paper we investigate if people cheat more when they observe their peers cheating because they conform or because they become aware that cheating is something to actively consider. In our experiment subjects toss a coin in private and report the outcome (white or black). We reward only those who report white and leave them the possibility to cheat without being discovered. In our 2x2 experimental design, we manipulated subjects’ report sheet to i) suggest (or not) that cheating is an option; ii) suggest that their peers were honest (or dishonest). We find that increasing awareness of cheating as an option significantly increases the probability that women cheat; whereas men – who are already aware that cheating is an option - are not affected. When we suggest that peers have cheated, men cheat significantly more, whereas women do not.

M3 - Working paper

T3 - FOI Working Paper

BT - Separating Will from Grace

PB - Institute of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen

CY - Frederiksberg

ER -