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The Dark Side of Creativity:
Original Thinkers Can be
More Dishonest
Francesca Gino
Dan Ariely
Working Paper
11-064
Copyright © 2011 by Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely
Working papers are in draft form. This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and discussion only. It may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Copies of working papers are available from the author.
Creativity and Dishonesty 1 Running Head: CREATIVITY AND DISHONESTY
The Dark Side of Creativity: Original Thinkers Can be More Dishonest
Francesca Gino
Harvard Business School, Harvard University
Dan Ariely
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
The authors greatly appreciate the support and facilities of the Center for Decision Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Address correspondence to fgino@hbs.edu.
Creativity and Dishonesty 2 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
Original Thinkers Can be
More Dishonest
Francesca Gino
Dan Ariely
Working Paper
11-064
Copyright © 2011 by Francesca Gino and Dan Ariely
Working papers are in draft form. This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and discussion only. It may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Copies of working papers are available from the author.
Creativity and Dishonesty 1 Running Head: CREATIVITY AND DISHONESTY
The Dark Side of Creativity: Original Thinkers Can be More Dishonest
Francesca Gino
Harvard Business School, Harvard University
Dan Ariely
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
The authors greatly appreciate the support and facilities of the Center for Decision Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Address correspondence to fgino@hbs.edu.
Creativity and Dishonesty 2 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