Graduation Term

2015

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Psychology: Clinical-Counseling Psychology

Committee Chair

William J. Schneider

Abstract

Previous studies have reported a connection between creativity and dishonesty (Beaussart, Andrews, & Kaufman, 2013; Gino & Ariely, 2012; Gino & Wiltermuth, 2014). This study attempts to investigate these finding further, and empirically connect the number of justifications provided or produced for a dishonest behavior to the perceived acceptability of the behavior. 203 participants were given two tasks involving evaluating and justifying dishonest behavior. Those who scored high on the Creative Behavior Inventory were able to produce significantly more justifications overall, but not those who scored high on the Creative Personality Scale. The total number of justifications produced was correlated with the average perceived acceptability of dishonest behavior. However, when justifications were provided, they were not significantly correlated with the perceived acceptability of the dishonest behavior. Finally, this study was unable to find any significant connection between creativity and perceived acceptability of dishonest behavior, contrary to previous studies. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

DOI

http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2015.Dymit.K

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Psychology Commons

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