Darkness can conceal identity and create a supportive environment for lying, according to a new research published in Psychological Science.
The study reveals that darkness may induce a psychological feeling of anonymity, similar to children playing hide and seek who believe that others cannot see them. Even the darkness created when people wear sunglasses can trigger the belief that they are protected from others’ attention and inspection.
“Darkness appears to induce a false sense of concealment, leading people to feel that their identities are hidden,” read the research paper.
Psychologists Chen-Bo Zhong and Vanessa Bohns from the University of Toronto, as well as Francesca Gina from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conducted three experiments to test darkness’s role in licensing dishonesty and self-interested behavior.
In the first experiment, the subjects, who were situated either in a dimly or well-lit room, received a brown envelope containing $10 along with one empty white envelope. They were then asked to fill out a worksheet with 20 matrices, each having 12 three-digit numbers.
Upon having five minutes to find two numbers in each matrix that added up to 10, the participants were asked to score their own work. For each pair of numbers correctly identified, they could keep 50 cents from their share of money.
At the end of the experiment, the subjects were asked to deposit the remainder of their money into the white envelopes on their way out. Although the two groups had no difference in performance, the subjects in the dimmer room cheated more and therefore earned more undeserved money.
In the second experiment, some participants put on sunglasses and others wore clear glasses while interacting with a stranger (actually the experimenter) who was in a different room.
Each person had $6 to allocate between himself and the stranger and could keep the amount he did not offer. Participants wearing sunglasses behaved more selfishly by giving significantly less than those wearing clear glasses.
In the third experiment, the scientists reproduced the previous experiment and then measured the extent to which participants felt anonymous during the experiment. Like the last experiment, those wearing sunglasses gave significantly less money and, furthermore, those wearing sunglasses reported feeling more anonymous during the study.
Across all three experiments, darkness had no bearing on actual anonymity, yet it still increased morally questionable behavior.
“Imagine that a person alone in a closed room is deciding whether to lie to a total stranger in an e-mail,” said Zhong in a press release. “Clearly, whether the room is well-lit or not would not affect the person’s actual level of anonymity. Nevertheless, darkness may license unethical behavior in such situations.”
To read the research paper, please visit http://fmgmt-02.rotman.utoronto.ca/facbios/file/PsychScience.pdf
The study reveals that darkness may induce a psychological feeling of anonymity, similar to children playing hide and seek who believe that others cannot see them. Even the darkness created when people wear sunglasses can trigger the belief that they are protected from others’ attention and inspection.
“Darkness appears to induce a false sense of concealment, leading people to feel that their identities are hidden,” read the research paper.
Psychologists Chen-Bo Zhong and Vanessa Bohns from the University of Toronto, as well as Francesca Gina from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conducted three experiments to test darkness’s role in licensing dishonesty and self-interested behavior.
In the first experiment, the subjects, who were situated either in a dimly or well-lit room, received a brown envelope containing $10 along with one empty white envelope. They were then asked to fill out a worksheet with 20 matrices, each having 12 three-digit numbers.
Upon having five minutes to find two numbers in each matrix that added up to 10, the participants were asked to score their own work. For each pair of numbers correctly identified, they could keep 50 cents from their share of money.
At the end of the experiment, the subjects were asked to deposit the remainder of their money into the white envelopes on their way out. Although the two groups had no difference in performance, the subjects in the dimmer room cheated more and therefore earned more undeserved money.
In the second experiment, some participants put on sunglasses and others wore clear glasses while interacting with a stranger (actually the experimenter) who was in a different room.
Each person had $6 to allocate between himself and the stranger and could keep the amount he did not offer. Participants wearing sunglasses behaved more selfishly by giving significantly less than those wearing clear glasses.
In the third experiment, the scientists reproduced the previous experiment and then measured the extent to which participants felt anonymous during the experiment. Like the last experiment, those wearing sunglasses gave significantly less money and, furthermore, those wearing sunglasses reported feeling more anonymous during the study.
Across all three experiments, darkness had no bearing on actual anonymity, yet it still increased morally questionable behavior.
“Imagine that a person alone in a closed room is deciding whether to lie to a total stranger in an e-mail,” said Zhong in a press release. “Clearly, whether the room is well-lit or not would not affect the person’s actual level of anonymity. Nevertheless, darkness may license unethical behavior in such situations.”
To read the research paper, please visit http://fmgmt-02.rotman.utoronto.ca/facbios/file/PsychScience.pdf
