How being exposed to violence affects ethical decision making

What is it about?

People acting unethically and committing fraud is a significant problem in the world that causes businesses and individuals to lose large amounts of money. Significant prior research addresses why employees act unethically and what can be done to prevent fraud. This study extends this research and specifically looks at how exposure to violence affects an employee’s ethical decision making. Using three experiments, we show being exposed to violence causes someone to act more unethically. We find that the reason people act more unethically after viewing violent media is because they have higher hostility levels. We also show that company's headquarters in areas with greater violence are more likely to commit fraud when reporting their financial statements.

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Why is it important?

Most prior research has only looked at how a characteristic of an individual affects if they will act unethically. This study is important because it shows that exposure to violent media, whether intentionally or not, affects how ethically an individual will act. This is especially important with all of the ways a person can be exposed to violence. It is also important because it helps us understand why people act unethically after being exposed to violence.