On the Relation Between Trait Morality and Unethical Decision-Making: Simply a Matter of Rule Compliance?

• In Event: Decison Making, Morality, Emotionality and Virtual Reality

Abstract

Prior research linking personality to unethical decision-making has found consistent (negative) links between measures of trait morality (e.g., HEXACO Honesty-Humility) and dishonest behavior, suggesting that individuals’ moral compass may affect their (un)ethical decisions. However, this research has overlooked the alternative hypothesis that those with high trait morality simply comply strongly with rules and that this—rather than any moral values or convictions—leads them to behave more ethically. Indeed, recent evidence suggests a consistent link between honesty and rule compliance in neutral (morality-unrelated) contexts. Across three studies we thus investigated whether the link between trait morality and dishonest behavior might be accounted for by individual differences in rule compliance. We focused on Honesty-Humility as a prominent index of trait morality, and used incentivized behavioral paradigms to assess both dishonest behavior and rule compliance. Results showed that although Honesty-Humility was positively related to rule compliance, its negative association with dishonest behavior remained robust once statistically controlling for rule compliance. These findings suggest that there is more to trait morality than simply following rules. By and large, the results have important implications for the understanding of individual differences in (un)ethical decision-making.

Authors

• Isabel Thielmann, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

• Luke D. Smillie, University of Melbourne, Australia