How Does Dishonesty Spread? Gender Matters!

Using an online experiment with two distinct dishonesty games, we analyze how dishonesty in men and women is influenced by either thinking or learning about the dishonesty of others in a related but different situation. Thinking is induced by eliciting a belief about others’ dishonesty in a different game. Such belief elicitation increases males’ (but not females’) dishonesty. Learning is induced by receiving a signal about the actual honest or dishonest choices of others in a different game. We find that females’ (but not males’) dishonesty increases with the level of dishonesty provided in such a signal. We conclude that gender matters when examining how unethical behavior spreads. Both genders update their beliefs about others’ dishonesty in the same way when presented with information about others’ choices. Still, dishonesty in men is triggered by merely thinking about others’ dishonesty, while women only respond to actual information on others’ dishonesty.