Cheating is common but that it is
infectious and can be increased by observing the bad behavior of others around
us. Specifically,
it seems that the social forces around us work in two different ways: When the
cheater is part of our social group, we identify with that person and, as a
consequence, feel that cheating is more socially acceptable. But when the
person cheating is an outsider, it is harder to justify our misbehavior, and we
become more ethical out of a desire to distance ourselves from that immoral
person and from that other (much less moral) out-group.
More
generally, these results show how crucial other people are in defining
acceptable boundaries for our own behavior, including cheating. As long as we
see other members of our own social groups behaving in ways that are outside
the acceptable range, it’s likely that we too will recalibrate our internal
moral compass and adopt their behavior as a model for our own. And if the
member of our in-group happens to be an authority figure—a parent, boss,
teacher, or someone else we respect—chances are even higher that we’ll be
dragged along.
