Sabotaging Another: Priming Competition Increases Cheating Behavior in Tournaments

C-Tier
Journal: Southern Economic Journal
Year: 2017
Volume: 84
Issue: 2
Pages: 456-473

Authors (2)

Mary L. Rigdon (University of Arizona, Center ...) Alexander D'Esterre (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Trophy. Goal. Dominated. Does priming individuals with competitive concepts such as these influence the temptation to cheat? We utilize a standard laboratory cheating task in a tournament setting and test whether nonconscious priming impacts the nature of cheating behavior. The results demonstrate an asymmetry in a winner‐take‐all setting: a competitive prime does not increase cheating to improve one's own outcome, but does significantly increase the willingness of an individual to sabotage a competitor.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:wly:soecon:v:84:y:2017:i:2:p:456-473
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29