Mispredictions about dishonesty after unfair treatment
Abstract
We used a preregistered incentivized online experiment to examine whether unfair treatment increases dishonesty toward uninvolved third parties and whether observers anticipate such effects. Unfairly treated participants were not significantly more likely to lie for personal gain. In contrast, spectators were nearly twice as likely to bet that unfairly treated participants would lie and judged such lying as more morally acceptable following unfair treatment. These patterns provide preliminary evidence of a sizeable belief–behavior gap in expectations about how unfairness influences dishonesty.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints
Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues
Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Economics Letters
- Volume
- 267
- Pages
- 113100–113100
- Publication date
- 27 June 2026
- Language
- EN