Behavioral Ethics: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Moral Judgment and Dishonesty

Bazerman, Max H.; Gino, Francesca

doi:10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-102811-173815

Cited by 245 publications

(182 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…To date, this research has focused largely on identifying situational pressures that can sway a person's moral compass (2) and on examining how individual differences predict various forms of unethical behavior (3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Memories of unethical actions become obfuscated over time

Kouchaki

Gino

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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126

153

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Despite our optimistic belief that we would behave honestly when facing the temptation to act unethically, we often cross ethical boundaries. This paper explores one possibility of why people engage in unethical behavior over time by suggesting that their memory for their past unethical actions is impaired. We propose that, after engaging in unethical behavior, individuals' memories of their actions become more obfuscated over time because of the psychological distress and discomfort such misdeeds cause. In nine studies (n = 2,109), we show that engaging in unethical behavior produces changes in memory so that memories of unethical actions gradually become less clear and vivid than memories of ethical actions or other types of actions that are either positive or negative in valence. We term this memory obfuscation of one's unethical acts over time "unethical amnesia." Because of unethical amnesia, people are more likely to act dishonestly repeatedly over time.dishonesty | memory | unethical behavior | psychological dissonance | morality A cross the globe, dishonesty is a widespread and common phenomenon. On an all-too-regular basis, the news reports cases of ethical misconduct in business, politics, sports, education, and medicine, behaviors that cost society millions, possibly billions, of dollars every year. Although certainly worrisome, these actions account for only a small portion of the dishonesty present in societies across the globe. Many people who consider themselves honest nevertheless often cheat on taxes, steal from the workplace, illegally download music from the internet, have extramarital affairs, use public transportation for free, lie, and so on. The costs of such arguably small-scale dishonesty are surprisingly large, both socially and financially.These troubling data explain, at least in part, why scholars across disciplines ranging from law and economics to psychology and management have become increasingly interested in studying when and why people, even those who report that they value morality, often act unethically (1). To date, this research has focused largely on identifying situational pressures that can sway a person's moral compass (2) and on examining how individual differences predict various forms of unethical behavior (3).Despite the many insights such work has provided, we still know little about why people engage in unethical behavior repeatedly over time. Because dishonesty often results in guilt, remorse, or other negative emotions (4), we might expect that people would avoid continuing to act unethically. However, anecdotal evidence across the domains highlighted earlier suggests just the opposite. Here, we identify one possible reason for persistent dishonesty: Unethical actions tend to be forgotten; when remembered, memories of unethical behavior become less clear and vivid over time than those of ethical actions or other types of positive and negative behaviors.Despite the common belief people hold that they are more ethical and fairer than others (5) and their strong de...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Memories of unethical actions become obfuscated over time

Kouchaki

Gino

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

126

153

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“…Behavioural ethics studies, how individuals actually decide and behave under ethically challenging circumstances. It explains individual behaviour considering universal moral standards (Trevino et al, 2006), and contradicts intuition with social welfare (Bazerman and Gino, 2012). Behavioural ethics recognises that moral principles might not be fixed, and behaviour could be strongly influenced by the context.…”

Section: The 'Right' Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

Managing workplace diversity: Ethical reasoning in a socio-cultural context

Apsalone

2017

PROSOC

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Workplaces are becoming increasingly diverse, and businesses constantly face the challenge of ensuring work ethics to strengthen competitiveness. Workplace ethics is affected not just by potential gains and losses of unethical action but also by employee morale, values and self-concept. The ethical reasoning process depends on both perception of what is ethical and the ability to justify unethical action in a given situation. In this study, we explore the role of individual, organisational and situational factors influencing the perceived degree of unethical behaviour at work. Individual socio-cultural factors include personal values, such as honesty, and socio-demographic factors, such as age, gender, education and tenure. Organisational factors are assessed through espoused values of honesty and responsibility. Finally, three situational factors are randomly introduced – low wage, boredom and perceived injustice. Two hundred and eight retail employees were surveyed to assess their personal values and the perceived degree of unethical behaviour at work. We found that honesty as a personal value changes ethical reasoning, especially when situational factors, such as low wage are introduced. Moreover, older employees tend to report more ethical behaviour in the workforce. We also concluded that declaring honesty and responsibility as organisational values could have a minor positive impact on ethical behaviour mitigating the impact of the introduced situational factors. Keywords: Socio-cultural factors, values, workplace diversity, business ethics, ethical reasoning

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“…A behavioural approach to business ethics examines how individuals make ethical decisions and judge the decisions of others. As such, decisions that are at odds with intuition and the benefits of society at large are of specific interest (Bazerman and Gino 2012).…”

Section: Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics and Behavioural Theory: How Do Professionals Assess Their Mental Models?

Graaf

2018

J Bus Ethics

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The role and ethics of professionals in business and economics have been questioned, especially after the financial crisis of 2008. Some suggest a reorientation using concepts such as craftsmanship. In this article, I will explore professional practices within the context of behavioural theory and business ethics. I suggest that scholars of behavioural theory need a strategy to deal with normative questions to meet their ambition of practical relevance. Evidence-based management (EBMgt), a recent behavioural approach, may assist business ethics scholars in understanding how professionals infer 'evidence' to make decisions. For a professional, ethical issues are an integral part of decision-making at critical moments. As reflective practitioners, they develop insights related to ethical concerns when collecting and assessing evidence within decision-making processes.

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Behavioral Ethics: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Moral Judgment and Dishonesty

Cited by 245 publications

References 78 publications

Memories of unethical actions become obfuscated over time

Memories of unethical actions become obfuscated over time

Managing workplace diversity: Ethical reasoning in a socio-cultural context

Ethics and Behavioural Theory: How Do Professionals Assess Their Mental Models?

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