Dan Ariely: Why we think it's OK to cheat and steal (sometimes)

There was this thought which kept troubling me for a long time. I had cheated a bit during certain exams that i had written. Surprisingly, i had not felt morose. I had these ready explanations which seemed very logical. In one case, had i not cheated, i was on the verge of failing... at least that was what my paranoic mind seemed to think. Well.. again.. all of these are just explanations. This went against the grain of all that i had been taught as a kid and plan to teach my kid as well.

So.. i chanced upon this video and was fascinated by its contents.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUdsTizSxSI&feature=channel

Topic: Dan Ariely: Why we think it's OK to cheat and steal (sometimes)

This is a talk by a Behaviorial Economist Dan Ariely. His conclusions are as follows:
1.      A lot of people cheat
2.      They cheat just a little bit (which he calls the fudge factor)
3.      When we remind people of morality, they cheat less (For e.g.: If people were made to sign an imaginary code of honor before a test, they cheated less)
4.      When we get distant from money itself, people cheated more. (Has a relation to the stock market scandals. You would understand this when you see the video)
5.      If there is cheating around us particularly part of our in-group, cheating goes up. (That leaves me wondering about Abhijit again)

Very interesting video.