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Constraining temptation: How specific and general rules mitigate the effect of personal gain on unethical behavior

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  • Mulder, Laetitia B.
  • Rink, Floor
  • Jordan, Jennifer

Abstract

Rules are often installed in order to constrain unethical behavior. Rules can be framed either in specific (“Don’t accepts gifts from clients.”) or general terms (“Don’t engage in conflicts of interest.”). The current investigation examines the effect of specific and general rules on unethical behavior and how this effect depends on personal gain resulting from the unethical behavior. The results of three preregistered experiments suggest that both specific and general rules counteract the increase in unethical behavior induced by high personal gain. Although the results were not fully consistent across all studies, specific rules appear more successful in doing this than general rules. In Studies 1 and 3, when personal gain from unethical behavior was (extremely) high, specific rules were more successful in reducing unethical behavior than were general rules. Results of Study 2 suggest that the larger effect of specific rules (compared to general rules) is caused by specific rules preventing people from engaging in moral rationalizations that justify their unethical behavior. A meta-analysis across all studies confirms this overall pattern. This research contributes to theory on rules, ethical codes, and the influence of personal incentives from unethical behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Mulder, Laetitia B. & Rink, Floor & Jordan, Jennifer, 2020. "Constraining temptation: How specific and general rules mitigate the effect of personal gain on unethical behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:76:y:2020:i:c:s0167487018306482
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2019.102242
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Le Maux, Benoît & Necker, Sarah, 2023. "Honesty nudges: Effect varies with content but not with timing," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 433-456.
    2. Matteo M. Marini & Giulia Ulivieri, 2024. "Meta-analyses in Economic Psychology: A sustainable approach to cross-cultural differences," MUNI ECON Working Papers 2024-01, Masaryk University.
    3. Mario Daniele Amore & Orsola Garofalo & Alice Guerra, 2023. "How Leaders Influence (un)Ethical Behaviors Within Organizations: A Laboratory Experiment on Reporting Choices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(2), pages 495-510, March.
    4. Tobol, Yossef & Siniver, Erez & Yaniv, Gideon, 2022. "Do restaurant customers who receive an unreasonably low bill bring it to the server’s attention? A field experiment on dishonesty," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Specific rules; General rules; Incentives; Personal gain; Unethical behavior; Moral rationalizations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K2 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law
    • K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior

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