Temporary, inconsistent, and null effects of a moral story and instruction on honesty

Jessica A. Sauter; Corey S. Stocco; Kevin C. Luczynski; Adam D. Moline

doi:10.1002/jaba.552

Temporary, inconsistent, and null effects of a moral story and instruction on honesty

Jessica A. Sauter, Corey S. Stocco, Kevin C. Luczynski, Adam D. Moline

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Lying during childhood is a common concern for caregivers. Lee et al. (2014) showed that a moral story and instruction implying reinforcers for honesty produced statistically significant improvements in children admitting a transgression. We evaluated the influence of this moral story and instruction on the consistency of honest reports when reinforcement favored lying in the context of reporting answers to math problems. The moral story and instruction produced temporary, inconsistent, or null effects across participants. However, reinforcing accurate reports produced consistent improvements in telling the truth.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	134-146
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of applied behavior analysis
Volume	53
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.552
State	Published - Jan 1 2020

Keywords

correspondence training
honesty
lying
morality
rule-governed behavior

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Philosophy
Sociology and Political Science
Applied Psychology

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10.1002/jaba.552

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abstract = "Lying during childhood is a common concern for caregivers. Lee et al. (2014) showed that a moral story and instruction implying reinforcers for honesty produced statistically significant improvements in children admitting a transgression. We evaluated the influence of this moral story and instruction on the consistency of honest reports when reinforcement favored lying in the context of reporting answers to math problems. The moral story and instruction produced temporary, inconsistent, or null effects across participants. However, reinforcing accurate reports produced consistent improvements in telling the truth.",

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KW - morality

KW - rule-governed behavior

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Temporary, inconsistent, and null effects of a moral story and instruction on honesty

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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