Differential judgment of ethical risk by cheaters and noncheaters.

Abstract

The study further explores the "ethical-risk" hypothesis which postulates that unethical behavior varies predominantly as a function of perceived risk. Previous studies demonstrated that of 6 different sources of variation, the negative reinforcement value of censure explained most of the variance of predictive judgments of unethical behavior. It is hypothesized that judgments made under varying conditions of censure will predict actual unethical behavior. 49 male Ss attempted an impossible task on which "success" was possible only by deception. "Successes" were monetarily reinforced. The results confirm the hypothesis (p < .02). Judgments made under conditions of censure are the only ones which predict unethical behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)