Victim Identification and DIshonest Behavior (2011)

Undergraduate: Wesley Crouse

Faculty Advisor: Ralph Byrns
Department: Economics

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This study experimentally tests the hypothesis that dishonest behavior is reduced when potential victims are readily identifiable. Subjects completed a computerized task that provided the opportunity to cheat for monetary incentives. Subjects were told that a fictional other participant in the study would have his or her compensation reduced based on the subject’s positive performance during the task. Thus, cheating directly had a negative impact on this fictional participant. Subjects were presented with different levels of identification concerning this fictional participant in order to test the hypothesis. Analysis of this data found moderate support for the hypothesis that dishonest behavior is reduced when a victim is readily identifiable.