Integrity is Contagious

Here’s an interesting experiment. David Rea, a social scientist in Wellington, New Zealand recently conducted a test on his students. He presented 28 university students with five ethical dilemmas. The students were split into two groups, given a questionnaire about the dilemmas and asked how they would respond in each case. The questionnaires were identical except that each group received different information about how others had responded to the same dilemma. For example one dilemma about paying taxes was presented to the first group Rea called the ‘ethical group environment’ as:

A very small number of tertiary students use accounting firms to file their tax returns. They do this to access a soon to be closed legal loophole that gives them a refund of $1000 on their student fees. Would you pay $40 to an accounting firm to access this refund?

While the ‘unethical group environment’ was presented with the following:

Almost all tertiary students use accounting firms to file their tax returns. They do this to access a soon to be closed legal loophole that gives them a refund of $1000 on their student fees. Would you pay $40 to an accounting firm to access this refund?

The results were significant. Individuals in the ‘ethical group environment’ acted ethically on average 58 per cent of the time while those in the ‘unethical group environment’ acted ethically only 38 per cent of the time.

Rea’s experiment is important because it provides valuable insight into our own behavior. Human beings have a deep need to fit in. When we see others doing the right thing we tend to follow. But the reverse is also true. If we see others cheating, it tends to encourage us to do the same. Rea’s work also builds on experiments by other social scientists. In one previous experiment, social scientists found that people were less likely to litter if they saw other people throwing garbage in the trash can.

Can you think of an instance when seeing other people’s behavior has affected your own? I’ve noticed it when I leave the grocery store, usually with a cart full of groceries, my children on the verge of a tantrum, and in the middle of a sudden downpour. After I load up the car, I look around and notice where other carts have been left. If I see carts strewn around in parking spaces, higgledy piggeldy, I find it much harder to force myself to trudge over to where you’re supposed to return your cart. But if I see carts neatly stacked at the entrance to the grocery store, I make the effort.

Knowing that people’s actions can be influenced by other people’s behavior is an empowering realization. Importantly, it means that we can create corporate and economic cultures where integrity is internalized and becomes the norm. (Yes even in finance!) Not by adopting onerous and restrictive rules though, but by taping into human nature and fostering self reinforcing integrity systems. It’s an exciting possibility at our fingertips! Stay tuned to find out more.