Köbis, N., van der Lingen, S., et al., (2019, February 5).
https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/gxu96
Abstract
Research in behavioural ethics repeatedly emphasizes the importance of others for people’s decisions to break ethical rules. Yet, in most lab experiments participants faced ethical dilemmas in full privacy settings. We conducted three experiments in which we compare such private set-ups to situations in which a second person is co-present in the lab. Study 1 manipulated whether that second person was a mere observer or co-benefitted from the participants’ unethical behaviour. Study 2 investigated social proximity between participant and observer –being a friend versus a stranger. Study 3 tested whether the mere presence of another person who cannot observe the participant’s behaviour suffices to decrease unethical behaviour. By using different behavioural paradigms of unethical behaviour, we obtain three main results: first, the presence of an observing other curbs unethical behaviour. Second, neither the payoff structure (Study 1) nor the social proximity towards the observing other (Study 2) qualifies this effect. Third, the mere presence of others does not reduce unethical behaviour if they do not observe the participant (Study 3). Implications, limitations and avenues for future research are discussed.
General Discussion
Taken together, the results of three experiments suggest that the physical presence of others reduces unethical behaviour, yet only if that other person can actually observe the behaviour. Even though the second person had no means to formally sanction wrong-doing, onlookers’ presence curtailed unethical behaviour while the local social utility (co-beneficiary or observer, Study 1) and the level of proximity (friend vs. stranger,Study 2) played a less important role. When others are merely present without being able to observe, no such attenuating effect on unethical behaviour occurs(Study 3). Introducing the physical presence of another person to the rapidly growing stream of behavioural ethics research, our experiments provide some of the first empirical insights into the actual social aspects of unethical behaviour.
Humans are social animals who spend a substantial proportion of their time in company. Many decisions are made while being in the presence or in the gaze of others. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of lab experiments in behavioural ethics consists of individuals making decisions in isolation(for a meta-analysis, see Abeler et al., 2016). Also field experiments have sparsely looked at the impact of the tangible social elements of unethical behaviour (for a review, see Pierce & Balasubramanian, 2015). Nevertheless, the behavioural ethics literature emphasizes that appearing moral towards others is one of the main explanatory factor to explain when and how people break ethical rules (Mazar, Amir, & Ariely, 2008; Pillutla & Murnighan, 1995). Yet, so far behavioural research on the presence and observability of actual others remains sparse. Providing some of the first insights into how the physical presence of others shape our moral compass can contribute to the advancement of behavioural ethics and potentially inform the design of practical interventions.
Direct application to those who practice independently.
