Karolina Aleksandra Scigala defends her PhD thesis

Title

'Individual and situational predictors of unethical behavior in contexts involving dishonesty'

Time and place

Friday, 20 November 2020 at 14:30 in Auditorium 25.01.53 at CSS, Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1353 Copenhagen K (Gammeltoftsgade) and on Zoom. We encourage people to participate via Zoom. 

Click here to attend the defence on Zoom.

Passcode: 308646.

If you would like to be present in the auditorium, please coordinate with the candidate at kas@psy.ku.dk. Please notice that the maximum number of people allowed in the auditorium is 42. Please also notice that it is mandatory to wear a mask on campus until seated at the defence. 

Due to the COVID-19 regulations, there will unfortunately not be a reception after the defence.

Assessment committee

  • Associate professor Thomas Morton, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (chair)

  • Professor Nina Mazar, Boston University, USA

  • Associate professor Panagiotis Mitkidis, Aarhus University, Denmark

Supervisor

  • Professor Ingo Zettler, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Abstract

Monetarily incentivized dishonesty, such as scams, tax evasion, and corruption, is a problem of an utmost importance for both individuals and societies. In this regard, a large and constantly growing body of research in Psychology and Behavioral Economics focuses on both situational and individual factors that are related to dishonesty. In my presentation, I will discuss two topics embedded within this line of research. Specifically, I will focus on the relation between the basic personality trait of Honesty-Humility (from the HEXACO Model of Personality) and dishonesty in contexts where two ethical motivations are at odds, namely, (1) collaborative dishonesty (where collaboration and honesty are at odds; N = 499), and (2) trustworthy dishonesty (where trustworthiness and honesty are at odds; N = 7,115). Furthermore, I will discuss the relation between creativity and (un)ethical behavior in contexts involving dishonesty with a focus on (1) creativity and dishonesty (N = 1,125), as well as (2) creativity and generation of (un)ethical justifications (N = 907). In brief, the findings suggest that Honesty-Humility is a consistent predictor of (un)ethical behavior in contexts involving dishonesty, whereas the role of creativity in predicting the behavior in question is rather inconclusive.