| Abstract: | Evaluated ethical decision making under different contingencies of reinforcement. A laboratory experiment was devised around a simulated task involving marketing decision making and the possibility of kickback payments to purchasing agents. Ss were 120 graduate business students who made a series of decisions of whether to pay kickbacks or not. When Ss were rewarded for unethical behavior, then unethical behavior was higher than when Ss were not rewarded. Unethical behavior was also higher under increased competition. Four personality variables (locus of control, economic and political value orientation, and Machiavellianism, as assessed by Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale, the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values, and the Mach V Scale) were found to be significant covariates of unethical behavior. Foreign Ss were found to be more unethical than US Ss, but sex was not related to ethical behavior. Overall, results suggest that unethical decision making is a combination of personality, cultural and value orientation, and environmental rewards and punishments. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
