Fox Business
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

The Science of Cheating

Details

  • Description

    Author Dan Ariely discusses why people cheat and whether it’s contagious.

  • Duration 8:26
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Stossel

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

Do you sheet.

Ever.

Never.

Come -- -- to be polite to people rightly say you look -- Or maybe take -- home from work.

First you probably don't take pay cash home from work so why where's the library.

Intuition tells us that what stops people from cheating or stealing us when the risk of being caught for the severity of punishment exceeds the benefit.

Getting something for nothing.

But the author of the honest truth about this honestly how we lie to everyone -- ourselves.

Says that's not the reason he's.

An area -- psychology professor do so it's not about get away with -- and no -- getting -- small part of that.

It turns out that the biggest effect comes from the fact that you have to look convictions on one hand we want to view yourself as on this wonderful caring people.

Well -- other didn't want to benefit from -- almost.

And what we do is we try to balance the two forces they -- -- -- couldn't do both you're either honest or you -- perhaps as long as it -- just a little bit.

We can she can still -- go for itself was honest people so for example taking -- -- work.

What's quite well taking petty cash.

Away doesn't work because you can't justify the same degree the fact that is money really feels like steel.

That extension -- a little easier.

If we -- you know -- easier ways and she can gulf and how the -- if you take the bull a new movies for each is deliberately this is just phenomenal.

But kicking it's a little -- -- keeping it's likely and moving just don't because if you didn't intend to all the son is okay.

And what's the psychological rationale for the psychological is basically about Russian -- age.

It wasn't -- -- me everybody else is doing this this is really what they -- and and sell.

-- at the everybody else is doing an idea of it that you say cheating is contagious.

Like an infection in cheating we teach kids how to -- we tell -- to be to be put lights by the people know somebody would.

-- injury when kids pointed to me and ask him and we did what happened to that guy parents always had -- -- point -- you've had an injury your face was burned area explosion.

And most of my body was good so in the have.

-- -- something it's it's much more.

Much more clear and when kids pointed that depends -- don't do that but it's input on how is it cheating it to say to the kid.

Don't embarrass him don't wait to hear it basically said to the kids that don't say everything is -- -- -- Basically had fully on -- fully honest you can have been inside the -- but don't make keeps.

External -- is just not something people do we have to keep an affront that he's not perfectly.

On this doping in sports.

So thing -- doping it's -- we get all these news reports about all these people who go in sports but imagine you're an -- What do you think is acceptable -- -- acceptable where would you find out if they every from the other athletes Ferrell doing it your soccer if you don't.

-- and today that there's a physician that throats mean he said that he actually has lots of patients who -- athletes.

And he thinks that -- actual amount of doping these lower than what people believe.

But if people believe that if everybody's doing it now this -- it is we can do it is well the same thing about illegal downloads defend but he's doing.

It's perfectly fine to do with as well.

While I tested this power of the pure effect once when I was an AB CA went to my -- -- beach got the fountain will hotel to put out of -- AA.

Under a banner that said SF and society -- -- expecting their members since we've made -- -- up.

The second stands for something for nothing.

But the -- it was appealing -- -- shrimp fruit people quickly started inspecting the food.

So what do you think you're that if you're the psychologist -- people take the vote what I would predict is that we've really hard to be the first person.

There's something pristine out there and if she's the first person -- a signal to basically that nobody else have touched before so if you're the first person be really hard.

But once something stock breaking done.

-- may have predicting a slew of people plugged in to run a positive effect.

Well that's exactly what happened we put the stuff out for five minutes nobody.

Touched if they respected other people's property.

And I was worried that I waste all this money this experiment for nothing.

But then.

-- Others did start to take and then more did and I confronted some about about it and most worried bear.

This is for the FFM societal card.

-- -- I you can -- it I had it.

But many freeloaders weren't ashamed at all and embarrassed -- -- Chris if -- coming in the first five shrimp there.

So wait a couple of they're not paid enough now that.

Teachers are not paid enough she said so this is the kind of rationale.

And that people use yet and it teaches not -- enough insurance company cheated us at some point in the past.

Everybody's doing it does not the real way the softest always we can tell ourselves at the moment.

And it.

This group affect you tested herself at Carnegie Mellon University what the other and to this extent which we think -- sheet of paper.

We twenty simple math problems with everybody could -- if we give them enough time.

But we don't -- enough time.

So again initiate in SA sold was -- you can into in five minutes and I'll pay you when you performance you go ahead and sold as many as you can.

And the end of the five -- -- say stop.

Count how many questions you got correctly and now that you know that number go to the back of the room and shred it piece of that.

You go you should a piece of paper as a comeback and tell me how -- questioned about correctly so it's totally honor system don't on the system and and you.

Destroyed evidence and people report an average six problems now what people don't willing to experiment is that we played with a shred.

So this should only should the sides of the page but the main body of the page remaining intact we can jumping and find out.

-- to question people really solve.

And on average -- people -- Floyd reports six but also people chicken little with very few people to get up and also the people to buy a few questions.

Now to test the group effect we added two components the first thing is -- -- that seems to.

And it -- synthetic -- fix that would raise their Henis and I sold everything.

So he was obviously achieved obviously viewing the experiment you still -- -- problem want you know that nobody cheated sold everything.

And day in the second thing we did was we gave people all the money up front and they paid himself -- and -- and and date the moment to raise his hand -- this and you know what you solve everything -- and an up and go home and now you see somebody cheats in an egregiously.

When I copied it.

Lots of people competent -- there's two ways to think about that one way to say we just prove to people within these experiment to continue -- -- would.

The other thing -- to -- -- attendees the demonstration you told people with people liked it from the same social group.

A cheap so which one of those with just and in the few ways with one of them.

Was we changed the outlook feat of acting student everybody -- -- it was a coming you know and student in the regular condition to student work colleague -- -- in the second experiment he was when University of Pittsburgh swift's.

Knowing he was to leave this from a different school but he's now not one of us -- like and what -- I group.

But what happens when somebody -- an -- group cheats should be actually wind down.

People say all cheating is -- and these other people -- we don't like so much I'm not gonna do not look pockets debt and people became.

We're honest what else do we do to increase on us what -- tests have found something so we found that lovely thing which we -- that group of about 500 students -- trying to called ten commandments.

Sadly none of them could -- that commandments and some of them invented but they thought about the command stationed -- about it and what happened off the what.

When we gave him a chance to -- in the same way nobody did.

It's not as if if people -- more commandments -- different note that moment people fault about a ten commandments they still cheap.

Even if we take self declared -- -- and we get -- saw the Bible they still cheap thinking about morality and honesty.

Made people more basic guts for the moment at least for a while it gets it to be more restrictive annual and they investigational fuel morality you have become more vigilant about it and therefore we behave but the that's one of the tricks but I think we shouldn't have more often think.

Load More