When someone gets away with cheating or being dishonest, chances are they will not feel remorseful; in fact, as long as they believe no one has been hurt by their cheating, they will feel positively upbeat.
Researchers have taken to calling this phenomenon the “cheater’s high,” and feel that it may be similar to a gambler’s high on a winning streak or other emotionally positive situational response.
A new study by the American Psychological Association has found that cheater’s often experience an emotional high after doing something unethical as long as it does not directly harm someone else, even when there is no tangible reward.
Participants in the study predicted that they would feel badly or at least ambivalent after activities such as cheating on a test or logging more hours than they worked. However, when they actually cheated, researchers found that subjects actually received a significant emotional boost instead.
Interestingly, people who gained from someone else’s misdeeds also felt better on average than those who didn’t. In one experiment participants were asked to solve math puzzles within a certain time frame. They were told they would be paid for each puzzle solved, with a second participant (actually an actor) grading them. In cases where the actor inflated the score, subjects reported greater satisfaction than in cases where the subject was scored accurately. No participants reported their inflated scores at the end of the test.
Researchers feel these results show why some people continue to cheat and be deceitful. The emotional high they receive makes even the smallest payoff worth it.
The American Psychological Association plans to continue these studies to examine if this “cheater high,” as they have come to call it, is a motivator for people to repeat unethical behaviors. This may explain why many incarcerated criminals are repeat offenders and why certain crimes have such a high rate of recidivism.
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Source: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/09/dishonest-deeds.aspx
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