Dim Lighting, Sunglasses, and Dishonesty

WASHINGTON: Dim lighting and sunglasses can encourage dishonest and unethical behavior, a new study finds.

Psychologists from University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted studies to test whether darkness can license dishonest and selfish behavior.

In one study, participants were placed in a dimly or well-lit room. They were given $10 and asked to complete a worksheet and reward themselves with $0.50 from their supply of money for each correct step. Participants in the slightly dim room cheated more and thus earned more undeserved money than those in a well-lit room.

In the another test, some people wore sunglasses and others wore clear glasses while interacting with a stranger. Each had $6 to allocate between him-or herself and the recipient and could keep what they didn’t offer. People wearing shades behaved more selfishly by giving less than the others.

The researchers suggest that the experience of darkness may induce a sense of anonymity that is disproportionate from actual anonymity in a given situation.


SOURCE: The Times of India