If the opportunity presents itself, restless people are more likely to deceive than those who are not inclined to worry over trifles.
So, at least, the authors of the study “Alarmed, scared and … deceitful: how anxiety makes people feel threatened and commit unethical acts”*, conducted at Northwestern University (USA), say. It was decided to introduce the participants of the experiment into an anxious state with the help of music. 63 students were asked to listen to relaxing music or a disturbing composition from the movie “Psycho”**. After making sure that the soundtrack to the thriller caused the right level of anxiety, and calm music – relaxation, the researchers moved on to the next part of the experiment.
Participants were instructed to complete a computer task for which a monetary reward was due. But it could be obtained, including through deception. “Calm” students who listened to relaxing music before the task, deceived 19 times. And the “restless” participants – 24 times. And the more anxiety the subjects felt, the stronger was their craving for deception. Researchers believe that the reason for this behavior lies in the desire to protect ourselves – feeling anxious, we first of all think about ourselves and worry less about compliance with generally accepted rules and norms. ***
* M. Kouchaki, S. Desai «Anxious, Threatened, and Also Unethical: How Anxiety Makes Individuals Feel Threatened and Commit Unethical Acts», Journal of Applied Psychology, September 2014.
** Thriller “Psycho”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
*** M. Dahl «Anxious People Are More Likely to Cheat», Science of Us (New York Magazine), January 2015.