Punishing Deception and Rewarding Honesty

33 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2008

See all articles by Cynthia Wang

Cynthia Wang

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater - Spears School of Business

Date Written: 2007

Abstract

The growing assumption within the economic (Brandts & Charness, 2003; cf. Fehr & Gachter, 2000b; Offerman, 2002) and psychology literatures (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & Vohs, 2001; Cacioppo & Gardner, 1999; Rozin & Royzman, 2001) is that deception is punished more frequently and intensely than honesty is rewarded. In contrast, this paper suggests that honesty is rewarded more frequently and intensely than deception is punished. This paper investigates responses to deception and honesty via the investigation of three topics: 1) comparing how frequently and intensely one punishes deception versus rewards honesty, 2) understanding how monetary costs affect the frequency and intensity of punishments and rewards, and 3) comparing indirect responses, understanding subsequent deviant behavior in an unrelated context after experiencing deception or honesty. The underlying psychological processes motivating responses to deception and honesty in interpersonal situations are discussed.

Suggested Citation

Wang, Cynthia, Punishing Deception and Rewarding Honesty (2007). IACM 2007 Meetings Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1111631 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1111631

Cynthia Wang (Contact Author)

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater - Spears School of Business ( email )

201 Business
Stillwater, OK 74078-0555
United States

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