Dishonest behavior can transition to continuous ethical transgressions

Ethical decision-making research often focuses on singular events. However, in our daily lives we are regularly tempted to behave dishonestly, and little is known about whether and how repeated ethical deviations can worsen over time. Building upon research on dishonesty and moral disengagement, we test the effect of repeated transgressions on dishonesty. Across six experiments we provide evidence that repeated transgressions can lead to a transition to continuous dishonesty. Individual dishonest acts are thus not independent events, but rather can compound and perpetuate pervasive unethical behavior. We find that making one's self-interested actions more salient hinders the transition to continuous cheating, while unfair financial deprivation, self-serving rewards, and gradual change -- factors that previous research has shown to facilitate moral disengagement - all facilitate the transition to continuous cheating. Moreover, we show that moral disengagement mediates the effect of gradual change on the transition to continuous dishonesty.