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Sabotaging Another: Priming Competition Increases Cheating Behavior in Tournaments

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  • Mary L. Rigdon
  • Alexander D'Esterre

Abstract

Trophy. Goal. Dominated. Does priming individuals with competitive concepts such as these influence the temptation to cheat? We utilize a standard laboratory cheating task in a tournament setting and test whether nonconscious priming impacts the nature of cheating behavior. The results demonstrate an asymmetry in a winner‐take‐all setting: a competitive prime does not increase cheating to improve one's own outcome, but does significantly increase the willingness of an individual to sabotage a competitor.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary L. Rigdon & Alexander D'Esterre, 2017. "Sabotaging Another: Priming Competition Increases Cheating Behavior in Tournaments," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(2), pages 456-473, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:84:y:2017:i:2:p:456-473
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.12232
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mary L. Rigdon & Alexander P. D'Esterre, 2015. "The effects of competition on the nature of cheating behavior," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 81(4), pages 1012-1024, April.
    2. Daniele Fanelli, 2009. "How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(5), pages 1-11, May.
    3. Schwieren, Christiane & Weichselbaumer, Doris, 2010. "Does competition enhance performance or cheating? A laboratory experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 241-253, June.
    4. Ahmed, Ali M. & Salas, Osvaldo, 2011. "Implicit influences of Christian religious representations on dictator and prisoner's dilemma game decisions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 242-246, May.
    5. David Cyranoski, 2009. "Hwang verdict imminent," Nature, Nature, vol. 461(7267), pages 1035-1035, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Azar, Ofer H. & Applebaum, Mark, 2020. "Do children cheat to be honored? A natural experiment on dishonesty in a math competition," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 143-157.
    2. Barile, Lory & Drouvelis, Michalis, 2024. "Priming and the gender gap in competitiveness," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1490, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.

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