

People Cheat More If the Benefits Are Shared - amirmc
http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/dailystat.php?date=070711

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simonsarris
> The experiments, in which hundreds of people participated in word games and
> other activities online, suggest that splitting the benefits makes cheating
> seem less unethical, Wiltermuth says.

Eek. I don't think we can _necessarily_ conclude that or anything like that.
The ethical-ness (or not) doesn't even have to enter people's minds for these
numbers to happen.

Other possibilities:

What if perhaps people just like helping people in a stackoverflow-esque way?
Maybe someone won't cheat if its just them, but if they can make someone else
happier/feel better, then they will?

What if they enjoy the sense of camaraderie? Working together while cheating
at some game is still working together.

They don't have to be thinking about ethics _in the least_ when choosing to
cheat more (or less). People simply like helping, interacting, and working
with other people, pretty much regardless of context. I doubt cheating more at
a word game when another person is involved is anything more than this.

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wccrawford
The decision to cheat always comes with an ethical dilemma for any non-
sociopath.

How much they value that ethical choice depends on a lot of factors, though,
and this study would seem to show that the benefits outweigh the ethical
concerns more often when the cheater isn't the only person benefiting.

And I have to agree. I've been in plenty of situations where I would not have
gone against my ethics for just myself, but when someone else was involved,
especially if they're counting on me, then I go ahead and do it.

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joejohnson
Here is the actual paper:
[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597810...](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597810000841)

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indrora
I dont have $40 spare. I'd love to read it, but apparently there's no colleges
even in my state which have SciDirect access.

Wait, isn't science about everyone knowing?

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jhancock
Just get 39 other people to pitch in $1, then violate the terms of the sale
and share your purchase with the other 39. Sure, its cheating, but if done as
a group, you'll feel ok about it ;).

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omouse
So they're trying to equate communism with cheating?

