Research Article
Encouraging a Belief in Determinism Increases Cheating
Kathleen D. Vohs
Department of Marketing, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota,
Jonathan W. Schooler
Department of Psychology,
University of British Columbia
ABSTRACT—Does moral behavior draw on a belief in free will? Two experiments examined whether inducing participants to believe that human behavior is predetermined would encourage cheating. In Experiment 1, participants read either text that encouraged a belief in determinism (i.e., that portrayed behavior as the consequence of environmental and genetic factors) or neutral text. Exposure to the deterministic message increased cheating on a task in which participants could passively allow a flawed computer program to reveal answers to mathematical problems that they had been instructed to solve themselves. Moreover, increased cheating behavior was mediated by decreased belief in free will. In Experiment 2, participants who read deterministic statements cheated by overpaying themselves for performance on a cognitive task; participants who read statements endorsing free will did not. These findings suggest that the debate over free will has societal, as well as scientific and theoretical, implications.
We are always ready to take refuge in a belief in determinism if this freedom weighs upon us or if we need an excuse. (Sartre, 1943/1956, pp. 78–79)
The belief that one determines one’s own outcomes is strong and pervasive. In a massive survey of people in 36 countries, more than 70% agreed with the statement that their fate is in their own hands (International Social Survey Programme, 1998). Yet the view from the scientific community is that behavior is caused by genes underlying personality dispositions, brain mechanisms, or features of the environment (e.g., Bargh, in press; Crick, 1994; Pinker, 2002). There is reason to think that scientists’ sentiment is spreading to nonscientists. For example, the news magazine The Economist recently ran the headline, ‘‘Free to Choose? Modern Neuroscience Is Eroding the Idea of Free Will’’ (‘‘Free to Choose?’’ 2006). What would happen if people came to believe that their behavior is the inexorable product of a causal chain set into motion without their own volition? Would people carry on, selves and behavior unperturbed, or, as Sartre suggested, might the adoption of a deterministic worldview serve as an excuse for untoward behaviors?
Full article is here:
Source: “The Value of Believing in
Free Will: Encouraging a Belief in Determinism Increases Cheating,”
by Kathleen Vohs and JonathanSchooler,
Psychological Science(January 2008).
Association for Psychological Science,
1010 VermontAvenue, N.W., 11th Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20005.
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MEDIA COVERAGE OF AND COMMENTARY ON GSP RESEARCH
ANALYSIS –
Gregory Paul on Religion
Domain-of-Darwin at Deviant Art blog 12/29/09
Are We Better Off Without Religion?
Susan Blackmore The Guardian 12/8/09
Who Needs God When We’ve Got Mammon?
David Villano Miller-McCune 11/24/09
[alternet.org article Is Religion Hurting America?]
Why Evolution is True
Jerry Coyne (University of Chicago) at Atheist Alliance International conference 10/3/09
[Minutes 41:00-48:00 & 54:00-57:00 are a practical demonstation of how GSP's research is beginning
to radically transform the evolution versus creation debate from the long static discussion about
science and education to the new, dynamic issue of scientifically and socioeconomically reforming the
U.S. to produce a better nation.)
Greg Paul Elaborates On Healthcare and Religion
Dorene Braun Examiner 10/19/09
What Healthcare Reform Really Means For the U.S.
Dorene Braun Examiner 9/23/09
Does Prosperity Entail the End of God?
Ronald Bailey Reason 9/18/09
Science, Religion Debated As Evangelical Takes Top NIH Post
Dan Vergano USA Today 9/11/09
Is Religiosity Beneficial in Affluent First World Nations? (press release)
Evolutionary Psychology Journal 8/31/09
Religion in the United States and Other Nations
Art Hobson NWA Times 8/29/09
(Un)wired for God
Sharon Begley Newsweek 8/13/09 print 8/24-31/09: 30 09
An Atheist Asks, 'Does Religion Cause Immorality?'
Hugh Kramer Examiner 8/7/09
America, Land of the Free Thinkers
Tom Flynn Washington Post - On Faith 3/11/09
Disbelief About Belief
Tom Flynn Washington Post - On Faith 2/8/09
Evolution: Unfinished Business
The Economist 2/5/09
Baylor Religion Survey Under Dispute
Sommer Ingram The Lariat 2/4/09
Humanist Group Claims Baylor Religion Survey Flawed
Katherine Phan Christian Post 2/4/09
Council for Secular Humanism Rips Baylor Survey on U.S. and Religion
Sam Hodges Dallas Morning News 2/3/09
Faith Hurts
PZ Meyers Pharyngula 11/22/08
Does Religion Make You Nice? Does Atheism Make You Mean?
Paul Bloom Slate 11/7/08
What Good is God?
Helen Phillips New Scientist 9/1/07
God and Good Behavior
Gwynne Dyer The Jerusalem Post 3/21/07
[A revealing comment was posted at bumpersticker.wordpress.com/2007/03/22/does-religion-do-more-
[Picked up by Associated Press.]
The Dark Side of Religion Shown by Creighton University Study
AOL News 10/4/05
Study Says Belief in God May Contribute To Society’s Dysfunctions
Julia Limb The World Today Australia 9/28/05
[Or hear the audio report including GSP commentary in MP3, Windows Media, Real Audio.]
Societies Worse Off ‘When They Have God On Their Side‘
Ruth Gledhill
The London Times 9/27/05
[Widely reprinted in The Australian, World Wide Religion News, etc. Most e-mailed article on the London
Times website, initiated international coverage of the JR&S paper.]
OP-EDS –
Why is Land of the Faithful Pockmarked with Varied Ills
Martin Dyckman St. Petersburg Times 10/30/05
Religion: Harmful for Society?
Zenit News Service/Catholic Online 10/15-16/05
So That’s the Reason
Theodore Dalrymple The Wall Street Journal 10/14/05
Religion May Be Dangerous To Our Health
Lee Salisbury Dissident Voice 10/11/05
My Heroes Are Driven By God, But I’m Glad My Society Isn’t
George Monbiot The Guardian 10/11/05
Also the AlterNet
Gallup Organization Refutes Story Saying “Societies Worse Off ‘When They Have God on Their Side’ “
David Virtue VirtueOnline 10/10/05
[Not actually from the Gallup organization, is from George Gallup Jr., who after his letter to the London
Times was rejected, posted it on this right wing blog. Gallup Jr. has stated that "When I ask a question
on these subjects, what I'm always trying to find out is: 'Are we doing the will of God?," "The world
knows a lot about Jesus, but do they know him? It is for the churches to seize this moment, to take the
vague spirituality of the day and turn it into faith that is solid and transformative," and "We know so little
about mystical experiences, yet the religious dynamic is perhaps the most powerful of all in American
culture. This is a way to unite our country on a deep level and produce a more peaceful
world." (www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/139/31.0.html)]
Correlation of Christian Ethics, Social Ills Knocks Advocates From Knees To Backside
Emily Maguire Sydney Morning Herald 10/4/05
The Dark Side of Faith: It’s Official: Too Much Faith May Be a Dangerous Thing
Rosa Brooks The Los Angeles Times 10/1/05
[Most e-mailed article on the Los Angeles Times website, led to appearance on MSNBC by Brooks
10/6/05.]
INTERVIEWS/LECTURES –
Universal Healthcare Promotes Freethought
Freethought Radio & Podcast Interview 9/19/09
The Big Religion Questions Solved!
Equal Time For Free Thought Interview on wbai.org 1/18/09
The Big Religion Questions Solved!
Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia videotaped lecture (82 mins) 12/2/08
Evolution vs. Creationism Debate
Marc Steiner Show, WJHU/NPR (Baltimore), Aug. 2000, rebroadcast Dec. 2000.
MISCELLANEOUS –
Hot Topic (of the week): Moral Depravity
Real Time with Bill Maher website 10/6-13/05
NON-RELIGION WORK
–
In other areas of research I have published in Nature, BioScience, Scientific American, The Anatomical Record, Modern Geology, Historical Biology and Cretaceous Research as well as a number of academic books. I have authored or edited books through Johns Hopkins University Press, Scientific American and Princeton University Press. Peer review services have been provided to editors, technical journals and the National Science Foundation government grant system.
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Abstract
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