Management Papers
Document Type
Technical Report
Date of this Version
7-2014
Publication Source
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume
53
Start Page
107
Last Page
117
DOI
10.1016/j.jesp.2014.03.005
Abstract
We demonstrate that some lies are perceived to be more ethical than honest statements. Across three studies, we find that individuals who tell prosocial lies, lies told with the intention of benefitting others, are perceived to be more moral than individuals who tell the truth. In Study 1, we compare altruistic lies to selfish truths. In Study 2, we introduce a stochastic deception game to disentangle the influence of deception, outcomes, and intentions on perceptions of moral character. In Study 3, we demonstrate that moral judgments of lies are sensitive to the consequences of lying for the deceived party, but insensitive to the consequences of lying for the liar. Both honesty and benevolence are essential components of moral character. We find that when these values conflict, benevolence may be more important than honesty. More broadly, our findings suggest that the moral foundation of care may be more important than the moral foundation of justice.
Copyright/Permission Statement
© 2014 Elsevier. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Keywords
lying, deception, unethical behavior, ethical dilemmas, moral judgment, white lies
Recommended Citation
Levine, E. E., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2014). Are Liars Ethical? On the Tension between Benevolence and Honesty. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 53 107-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2014.03.005
Included in
Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Legal Theory Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons, Social Psychology Commons
Date Posted: 25 October 2018
This document has been peer reviewed.