Punishing Deception and Rewarding Honesty
33 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2008
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.
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