Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics

The Cheater's High: amazing and alarming new study by Nicole Ruedy, Lab Fellow Celia Moore, Lab Committee member Francesca Gino, and Maurice E. Schweitzer.

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A new study, co-authored by Nicole Ruedy, Lab Fellow Celia Moore, Lab Committee member Francesca Gino and Maurice E. Schweitzer, finds that although individuals predict they will feel guilty after engaging in unethical behavior, those who cheat on certain problem-solving tasks consistently experience a greater positive affect than those who do not. Cheating is associated with feelings of self-satisfaction and, alarmingly, the boost can persist even when prospects for self-deception about unethical behavior have been reduced.

The paper will be presented in August at the Academy of Management in Boston, and has already drawn attention in the press (Washington Post; The Globe and Mail).