Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 20, 2025
07:36
An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
8.7K
Cognitive Control Promotes Either Honesty or Dishonesty, Depending on One's Moral Default
Sebastian P Speer1, Ale Smidts2, Maarten A S Boksem2
1Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands speer@rsm.nl.
Summary
Cognitive control influences honesty by helping cheaters be honest and honest individuals to cheat, depending on their default moral tendencies. This study confirms this finding using electroencephalography and an independent task.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Cognitive control's role in decision-making, particularly honesty, is debated.
- Conflicting theories suggest cognitive control either promotes honesty or enables cheating based on individual moral defaults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that cognitive control's effect on honesty is modulated by an individual's moral default.
- To provide converging evidence for a recent finding using a different methodology.
Main Methods:
- Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain activity in human participants.
- A Stroop task served as an independent localizer for cognitive control demands.
- Participants completed an independent cheating task to assess dishonest behavior.
Main Results:
- Neural signatures of cognitive control from the Stroop task predicted (dis)honest choices in the cheating task.
- Evidence supports that cognitive control facilitates cheating in generally honest individuals.
- Conversely, cognitive control aids cheaters in acting honestly.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive control's impact on honesty is not absolute but depends on an individual's baseline moral disposition.
- EEG-based neural signatures of cognitive control can predict honesty in decision-making.
- Findings establish converging evidence for the context-dependent role of cognitive control in moral behavior.
Related Concept Videos
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
34.6K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
34.6K
01:14Understanding Deception
27
Deception is a pervasive aspect of human communication. Empirical studies have shown that most individuals engage in some form of deceit on a daily basis, with approximately 20% of social exchanges involving deceptive elements. Lying follows a developmental trajectory, peaking during adolescence and declining with age, possibly due to the maturation of cognitive control and social accountability.Cognitive and Social Factors in Deception DetectionDespite its prevalence, accurately detecting...
27
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory
18.5K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
18.5K
01:19Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
265
Kohlberg's theory of moral development uses the Heinz dilemma — a thought experiment in which a man, Heinz, must decide whether to steal an unaffordable drug to save his dying wife — to illustrate the evolution of moral reasoning. This framework, divided into three levels with two stages, highlights how individuals' understanding of right and wrong becomes increasingly complex.
Pre-Conventional Level
At the pre-conventional level, morality is primarily driven by personal...
Pre-Conventional Level
At the pre-conventional level, morality is primarily driven by personal...
265
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
41.5K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
41.5K
01:25Motivational Bias
144
Cognitive bias results from limitations in thinking and information processing, leading to systematic errors in judgment. Conversely, motivational bias stems from personal desires or emotions, causing distortions in perception to align with self-interest. Motivational bias influences how individuals perceive and attribute causes to events, often shaped by personal needs, goals, and self-esteem preservation. This bias can distort judgment, leading to inaccurate assessments of success, failure,...
144