The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty

in academia, 82, 84–85

in dentistry, 67–71, 93, 94, 230

disclosure and, 88–92

dots task and, 129

eradication of, 92–95

exclusion of experimental data and, 86–88

expert witnesses and, 85–86

in financial services industry, 83–85, 93, 94

governmental lobbyists and, 77–78, 94

honesty threshold and, 130–31

inherent inclination to return favors and, 74–75

medical procedures and, 71–74, 92–94, 229

pharmaceutical companies’ influence in academia and, 82

pharma reps and, 78–82

what-the-hell effect and, 129–31

congressional staffers, cheating among, 243

Congress members, PAC money misused by, 208–10

contractors, 93

Conway, Alan, 150–51

Cooper, Cynthia, 215

Cornell University, 250–51

corpora callosa, 164–65

corporate dishonesty:

cheating a little bit and, 239–40

Enron collapse and, 1–3, 192, 207, 215, 234

recent spread of, 192, 207–8

cost-benefit analysis, 4–5, 26–27, 237, 239

infectious nature of cheating and, 201–3, 205

see also Simple Model of Rational Crime

counterfeits, see fake products

creativity, 88, 163–89, 238

brain structure and, 164–65

dark side of, 187–89

fooling oneself and, 165–67

increasing, to increase level of cheating, 184–87

infidelity and, 244

intelligence vs., as predictor of dishonesty, 172–77

link between dishonesty and, 170–72, 186–89

logical-sounding rationales for choices and, 163–64

measures of, 171

moral flexibility and, 186–87

pathological liars and, 168–70

revenge and, 177–84

credit card companies, 239–40

crime, reducing, 52

cultural differences, 240–43

Danziger, Shai, 102

decision making:

creating efficient process for, 167–68

effectiveness of group work in, 217–18

rationalization process and, 163–67

Denfield, George, 75

dentists:

continuity of care and, 228–31

treating patients using equipment that they own, 67–68, 93–94

unnecessary work and, 67–71

depletion, see ego depletion

dieting, 98, 109, 112–13, 114–15

what-the-hell effect and, 127, 130 “dine-and-dash,” 79

diplomas, lying about, 135–36, 153, 154

disabled person, author’s adoption of role of, 143–44

disclosure, 88–92, 248

study on impact of, 89–92

discounting, fixed vs. probabilistic, 194

dishonesty:

causes of, 3–4, 5

collaborative, see collaborative cheating

cultural differences and, 240–43

discouraging small and ubiquitous forms of, 239–40

importance of first act of, 137

infectious nature of, 191–216; see also infectious nature of cheating

intelligence vs. creativity as predictor of, 172–77

link between creativity and, 170–72, 186–89

opportunities for, passed up by vast majority, 238

of others, fake products and assessing of, 131–34

rational and irrational forces in, 254

reducing amount of, 39–51, 248–54

society’s means for dealing with, 4–5

summary of forces that shape (figure), 245

when traveling, 183n

see also cheating

dissertation proposals and defenses, 101

distance factors, 238

in golf, 58–59

stealing Coca-Cola vs. money and, 32–33

token experiment and, 33–34

doctors:

consulting for or investing in drug companies, 82, 93

continuity of care and, 228–29

lecturing about drugs, 81

pharma reps and, 78–82

treating or testing patients with equipment that they own, 92–94

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 234

dots task:

conflict of interest and, 129

description of, 127–29

link between creativity and dishonesty and, 171–72, 185–86

what-the-hell effect and, 129–31

downloads, illegal, 137–39

dressing above one’s station, 120–21

Ebbers, Bernie, 13

ego depletion, 100–116, 238, 249

basic idea behind, 101

cheating and, 104–6

in everyday life, 112–16

removing oneself from tempting situations and, 108–11, 115–16

of Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones, 103

sometimes succumbing to temptation and, 114–15

sudden deaths among students’ grandmothers at exam time and, 106–8

ego motivation, 27

England, cheating in, 242

Enron, 1–3, 192, 207, 215, 234

essay mills, 210–13

exams, sudden deaths among students’ grandmothers and, 106–8

exhaustion, 249

consumption of junk food and, 97–98

judges’ parole rulings and, 102–3

see also ego depletion

experimental data, exclusion of, 86–88

expert witnesses, 85–86

explanations, logical-sounding, creation of, 163–65

external signaling, 120–22

dressing above one’s station and, 120–21

fake products and, 121–22

failures, tendency to turn blind eye to, 151

“fair,” determination of what is, 57

fake products, 119, 121–40, 238

illegal downloads and, 137–39

misrepresentation of academic credentials and, 135–36

rationalizations and, 134–35

self-signaling and, 123–26, 135

signaling value of authentic version diluted by, 121–22

suspiciousness of others and, 131–34

what-the-hell effect and, 127–31, 135

farmer’s market, benevolent behavior toward blind customer in, 23–24

fashion, 117–26

counterfeit goods and, 119, 121–22, 121–40, 123–26; see also fake products

dressing above one’s station and, 120–21

external signaling and, 120–22

self-signaling and, 122–26

Fastow, Andrew, 2

favors, 74–82

aesthetic preferences and, 75–77

governmental lobbyists and, 77–78

inherent inclination to return, 74–75

pharma reps and, 78–82

see also conflicts of interest

Fawal-Farah, Freeda, 117, 118

FBI, 215