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Related Experiment Videos

Cheating at the end to avoid regret.

Daniel A Effron1, Christopher J Bryan2, J Keith Murnighan3

  • 1Organisational Behaviour Subject Area.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|June 2, 2015
PubMed
Summary
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People are nearly 3 times more likely to cheat when they believe it is their last opportunity. This "cheat-at-the-end" effect, observed in over 25,000 cheating instances, is driven by the regret of missed chances for personal gain.

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Economics
  • Psychology
  • Ethics

Background:

  • Understanding ethical decision-making in situations with repeated, low-risk opportunities for dishonesty is crucial.
  • Previous research has not fully explored the temporal dynamics of cheating behavior within a finite series of choices.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether individuals are more prone to cheating as a series of opportunities concludes.
  • To identify the psychological mechanisms underlying the 'cheat-at-the-end' phenomenon.
  • To examine potential alternative explanations for this behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of over 25,000 cheating opportunities across 4 experiments and a meta-analysis involving more than 2,500 participants.
  • Participants faced opportunities to cheat via lying about coin flips or overbilling for work.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Manipulation of perceived vs. actual number of cheating opportunities.

    • Main Results:

    • Cheating likelihood increased significantly, nearly tripling, at the end of a series of opportunities.
    • The 'cheat-at-the-end' effect was mediated by anticipatory regret over missed self-enrichment.
    • No support found for self-control depletion, moral erosion, or entitlement as explanations.
    • The effect appears limited to shorter series (n < 20).

    Conclusions:

    • Individuals exhibit a heightened propensity to cheat when anticipating the final opportunity in a series.
    • Anticipatory regret is a key driver of this end-of-series cheating behavior.
    • Ethical decision-making in repeated, low-risk scenarios is influenced by temporal factors and regret aversion.