Darkness May Encourage Dishonesty in People
Related: behavior, Darkness, Dishonesty, health, People
According to the Association for Psychological Science a dimly-lit room promotes dishonest and selfish behavior.
According to a study in the “Psychological Science” journal, darkness, even darkness from a pair of sunglasses, caused individuals to feel more anonymous. They were more inclined to lie, cheat and participate in self-centered behavior.
“Imagine that a person alone in a closed room is deciding whether to lie to a total stranger in an e-mail,” said Chen-Bo Zhong, one of the study’s researchers in a statement. “Clearly, whether the room is well-lit or not would not affect the person’s actual level of anonymity. Nevertheless, darkness may license unethical behavior in such situations.”
Three experiments helped them reach that conclusion. In the first, they placed participants in both well-lit and dimly lit rooms with an envelope containing $10. They had five minutes to complete a worksheet with 12 three-digit numbers, from which they were to find two numbers that added up to 10. They scored their work and could keep 50 cents for each correct pair. They were to place the remaining money in a different envelope and leave it with the researchers on their way out.
Those in the dimly lit room cheated more often and so earned more money.
It’s an interesting phenomenon and I can’t wait for them to find out why it works this way.
Last Updated on March 4th, 2010
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