People Cheat More If the Benefits Are Shared

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Comment: Birds of a feather flock together...Prov 1:14-16 “…cast in your lot among us, let us all have one purse” — my son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path; for their feet run to evil…

People's likelihood to cheat doubled, from 21% to 43%, if the benefits were split with another person, according to a series of experiments by Scott S. Wiltermuth of the University of Southern California. The experiments, in which hundreds of people participated in word games and other activities online, suggest that splitting the benefits makes cheating seem less unethical, Wiltermuth says.