Author Abstract
Creativity is a common aspiration for individuals, organizations, and societies. Here, however, we test whether creativity increases dishonesty. We propose that a creative personality and creativity primes promote individuals' motivation to think outside the box and that this increased motivation leads to unethical behavior. In four studies, we show that participants with creative personalities who scored high on a test measuring divergent thinking tended to cheat more (Study 1); that dispositional creativity is a better predictor of unethical behavior than intelligence (Study 2); and that participants who were primed to think creatively were more likely to behave dishonestly because of their creativity motivation (Study 3) and greater ability to justify their dishonest behavior (Study 4). Finally, a field study constructively replicates these effects and demonstrates that individuals who work in more creative positions are also more morally flexible (Study 5). The results provide evidence for an association between creativity and dishonesty, thus highlighting a dark side of creativity.
Paper Information
- Full Working Paper Text
- Working Paper Publication Date: January 2011
- HBS Working Paper Number: 11-064
- Faculty Unit(s): Organizational Behavior
However, I am creative too. I can (and do) frequently think of things that I restrain myself from doing. The role of individual agency, moral choice, self restraint in regulating such impulses would be a great study. I can't imagine, at this point, how to get at those issues (without cheating).
Shame on you Harvard.
Though none of us should think that finding a correlation is the same as finding a cause, the presence of a relationship between creativity and dishonesty means we need to understand more - I was also suggesting rather gently that for people to show a tendency in testing does not mean that they will exhibit that tendency in life situations where the moral or ethical implications might "carry more freight" than the test instrumentation detected such that creative people may or may not be more dishonest in "real life" situations.
Thanks Mr. Scudder for your energetic rejection - it makes me want to read this study more closely.
wonder and create works of art. The artists I know also have
integrity, so I would like to know who was studied.
Just because you are creative and honest does not mean the results of the study are invalid. Just because some people are creative doesn't automatically mean that they are dishonest. What the study does tell us however is that people who have tested to be more creative have a tendency to be more dishonest. What you are is anecdotal and not statistical. This research seems very interesting, especially from the view point of a morally ambiguous financial analyst (only joking).
Once concern that I have that would come out of this work is if companies then test for creativity and don't hire based on the results of a correlation found.
I tend to shy from using the "thinking outside the box" metaphor, but on this occasion...
Let's remember that this "box" - containing all sorts of "accepted" concepts, rules and behaviours for a group - is a human construct and socially and culturally dependent.
Different groups adopt and use different boxes, and only a few - the "creative" ones - will construct, modify or change the box; this includes dipping into someone else's box when there is a perceived opportunity and advantage.
Dishonest behaviour is observed in other primates, who will on occasion use "creative" behaviours to cheat other members of their group. It's an adaptive advantage and evolution made us that way. We humans have the added advantage of creating narratives to rationalize and explain our dishonesty.
(a) in an organisation where there are more than one creative employee with similar responsibilities or with auditing responsibilities, those creative people do NOT tend to cheat, as they fear their creative counterpart(s) may uncover the scheme and would not likely to cooperate.
(b) in an organisation where there are NO other creative employees with similar responsibilities or with auditing responsibilities, those creative people do tend to cheat.
So, the correlation between creativity and dishonest behaviour, I hypothesise, is conditioned by organisational structure and presence of creative people in similar or "checks and balances" departments.
By the way, I don't know if there's any correlation between creativity and risk preferences. Are creative people more willing to accept greater risks? I am a "creative pessimist" who sees more dangers than solutions. Creative optimists, probably most evident in marketing units and organisations, I think, are not as risk averse as I am. Um, perhaps personality is worth a closer look in future studies.
1. Companies like Google or IBM or any with great R+D needs must be full of cheaters?
2. Artists and scientists are unethical by nature?
3. Could be that companies that need innovators and very creative people, in order to retain them, make terrible decisions related with compensation, promotions and incentives in general?
4. Could it be that those companies hire people highly motivated by extrinsic rewards and after that promote behaviors related with that kind of motivation?
5. If "individuals who work in more creative positions are also more morally flexible", could it be possible that the problem is not the individual but the selection process and the incentives?
6. Corruputs are almost always creative, so... you better don't hire creative people and then you won't have corruption in your company.
7. Maybe politics are very creative and that's why they are unethical. If we elect people without creativity, politics will be much better and corruption will disappear.
1) Would another title as: 'Dishonest and cheating people tend to be more creative and original thinkers' being more suited? It would remove some controversy about establishing the link some people mentioned.
It's clear that in HBS Clayton Christensen (Disruptive Innovation), Robert Kaplan (ABC costing and BSC), Michael Porter, John Kotter, and many others are creative thinkers and not cheating or being dishonest...!
2) When we measure or observe an environment, we disturb it. Test are organized so that cheating is possible, there are financial incentives if people act in some ways, ... May be, with the same people, a test around ethics and moral values, where they were encouraged by earnings and through the testing scenarios would have also given a positive correlation. Stress was induced (by money but also limited time and challenging questions). Stress disturbs good and sound decision making as well.
3) Without going deep into the details, all the panel was a Y-gen one. At that stage the ethical model is not yet fully developed because still influenced by the parent's culture and still defining their own (with different criterias). Moreover that generation displays different ethics than older generations. For example cheating at school or downloading thousands of songs and movies for free might be considered as 'opportunistic' while they tend to be more critical about a generation that had run dirty businesses polluting the environment, subcontracting work in low costs countries without respecting human rights or having Fair Traded intentions, kept minorities or even women outside of the important roles. Every culture has its own values.
Finally a good study, I repeat, but one linking creativity to ethical behavior would complement it and would possibly allow to have a better understanding of the total picture.
Thanks for the article.
I am creative and Intelligent (I suppose) and at the same time high on values, honest, ethical etc etc. I would say creative people, like ordinary people may or may not indulge in dishonesty, depending on their backgrounds, values and compelling situations; however there is a high probability for the dishonest creative person to get away smartly and low probability of getting caught
I am both creative and intelligent and consider myself very honest. I went through schools, college, and graduate college and never cheated. I researched and wrote all my own papers and did very well on tests by studying. My creativity helped me to do well without considering dishonest behavior, so I do not agree with this study. I am truthful and honest in my relationships, yet also enjoy fantasy and have a sense of wonder and create works of art. The artists I know also have integrity, so I would like to know who was studied.
Corrupts are almost always creative, so... you better don't hire creative people and then you won't have corruption in your company.
May be politics are very creative and that's why they are unethical. If we elect people without creativity, politics will be much better and corruption will disappear.
I am creative but certainly not dishonest. I guess the deciding factor is strong moral and ethical principles. Without that yes being creative will definitely lead to dishonesty as you don't have any boundaries and anything is possible.
Thanks for the article.
That those endowed with creativity tend to cheat is relative. This depends on the 'character' of the individual amongst other social and psychological factors.
I am creative and my problem overtime has been selling out my ideas. From experience I learent that before anybody may buy into my idea, they first of all buy into me. How do I therefore endear myself to them; this also demands creativity.
I cannot however conclude on this, the situation in which one appears dishonest could be such that, when the creative individual becomes over-protective or cladestine he/she tends to scheme to see his/her creative ideas sail through to find fulfilment.
My question therefore in this line of thinking is, in what situation does the creative person is adjudged dishonest, and by who, for with what intent?
Thank you!
Eric O. Esievo
FOURTHMAN Global Consulting Ltd.
gs.
As humans, our prejudices greatly influence our beliefs and we tend to find 'proof' where ever we look.
Based on this logic, if I am to believe the theories posited in the above study, intelligent people are more likely to be dishonest than their unintelligent counterparts.
What does this say about Harvard?
1: The title suggest: Original thinkers CAN be more dishonest, it leave a equal probability of original thinkers CAN be MORE honest? Sometimes original thinkers can analyze an issue more deeply than a common man and hence there is a higher possibility that they would see implications of making a decision better and more honestly compared to others who would think comparitively more superficially and end up making decisions which seem to be honest to him/her but in reality is not the best honest decision.
Normally media publicizes the creative dishonest incidents/decisions more loudly compared to creative honest decisions (enron, etc..). This can be a stage for creation of a bias in our minds which would strongly want us to believe in this author's paper. Reality cannot be seen clearly when glanced through biased eyes.
Could this also lead to a possibility that creatively honest people's act unless revealed loudly would go unnoticed, uncredited for?
2: Instead of saying 'Original thinkers', I think it would be more appropriate to say 'creative thinkers' that can be dishonest due to the reasons stated in paper which point out to creative thinkers as opposed to original thinkers. Not all creative thinkers are original thinkers, although the other way around is true.
One of the first lessons in computer science is garbage in, garbage out. Anyone here can produce a study demonstrating that sleep does the same thing! How about taking vitamins? Or showering? American society has dispensed with critical thinking altogether, if this idea passes as credible science.
Paul E. Bierly, Robert W. Kolodinsky & Brian J. Charette (2009). Understanding the Complex Relationship Between Creativity and Ethical Ideologies. Journal of Business Ethics 86 (1).
ABSTRACT: The relationship between individuals' creativity and their ethical ideologies appears to be complex. Applying Forsyth's (1980, 1992) personal moral philosophy model which consists of two independent ethical ideology dimensions, idealism and relativism, we hypothesized and found support for a positive relationship between creativity and relativism. It appears that creative people are less likely than non-creative people to follow universal rules in their moral decision making. However, contrary to our hypothesis and the general stereotype that creative people are less caring about others, we found a positive relationship between creativity and idealism. These findings indicate that highly creative people are likely to be what Forsyth called "situationists," individuals with both an ethic of caring and a pragmatic moral decision-making style. The finding that creative individuals tend to be situationists, and particularly that they tend to be high in idealis
m, appears to refute the line of reasoning that argues for a "creative personality" characterized in part by social insensitivity. Understanding the relationship between creativity and ethical ideologies has important implications for researchers, managers and teachers.
Creativity is a flexible way of seeing old things. Since it is flex it should be necessarily different, in other words its a different and advantageously way of doing the same old thing.
On the other hand dishonesty is a wise man which takes advantages from anybody in the neibourhood no matter if it is legal or not.
Thats the similarity betwen creativity and dishonesty:
both are looking for taking advantages.
Paulo Wilson Rodrigues
Owner
I am creative and intelligent, and yes, I have done things like subverting and going around company policies on occasion when I believed that the policies were ill-advised and everyone would be better off if I did -- and almost uniformly been proved right. There is a fundamental proposition of organizational life that goes, "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission." I suspect that a lot of the "dishonest" organizational behavior surfaced in this study falls in that debatable area.
It is the proposed causal relationship I take issue with. If creativity triggers dishonesty, why not propose that being dishonest (an 'evil genius') triggers creativity?
Also, the suggestion in the Executive Summary that artists tend to be unethical is contemptuous and what one would expect from Harvard. Shame!