Wendy Treynor: USC Institute for Creative Technologies

Is one who believes that unethical activity is common unlikely to act ethically? To test the hypothesis that cynical beliefs predict unethical behaviors, actual unethical activity was examined by developing two laboratory techniques. In the American History Aptitude Test cheating technique, participants were told they would be rewarded with 10 cents for each question on a test that “accidentally” had the correct answers already marked on it, whereas in the Weight Perception Task stealing technique, participants estimated the weight of objects using coins from a bowl, which they sat alone with, containing $71.00 of coins. Regardless of technique used, cynicism—the belief that
others are engaging in unethical acts or that unethical behavior is common or normal—was found to positively predict unethical behavior.