Time, Money, and Morality

It seems a day doesn’t go by without some unethical behavior by a politician, movie star, professional athlete, or high-ranking executive splashing the cover of newspapers. Although less sensational, revelations of cheating have also crept into the sciences, and continue to show up in classrooms, businesses, and marriages. Sadly, such actions have ruinous consequences, hurting individuals, families, corporations, and entire academic fields. Given that decades of psychology research have shown that people strive to maintain a positive self-concept (Adler, 1930; Rogers, 1959) and that morality is central to people’s self-image (Aquino & Reed, 2002; Chaiken, Giner-Sorolla, & Chen, 1996), the prevalence of unethical behavior and the fact that even good people are prone to lose track of their moral compass is surprising (Ayal & Gino, 2011; Mazar, Amir, & Ariely, 2008; Shalvi, Eldar, & Bereby-Meyer, 2012). Are there simple ways to encourage self-reflection, thus decreasing individuals’ tendencies to behave immorally? Here, we focus on two triggers that are ubiquitous enough in the environment to have a chance at instigating a widespread effect on unethical behavior: money and time.