My work on ethical decision making and the psychology of moral judgment illustrates how even small factors can turn us away from our moral self. When and why do ordinary people cross ethical boundaries? And how can they routinely engage in dishonest acts without feeling guilty about their behavior? Do people cross ethical boundaries only for their own benefit? My research addresses these questions in various contexts, using both laboratory and field data.
The basic premise of this line of work is that even good people regularly engage in behavior that violates their own ethical principles, either because they do not realize they are behaving dishonestly (e.g., Gino & Bazerman, 2009), because they can't resist the temptation to act unethically (e.g., Mead, Baumeister, Gino, Schweitzer, & Ariely, 2009; Gino, Schweitzer, Mead, & Ariely, 2011) or because they find effective ways to overlook or rationalize their choices (e.g., Shu, Gino, & Bazerman, 2011). Healthy work and social environments depend on the ability of leaders and employees alike to spread ethical norms and values, while reducing the attractiveness of unethical misconduct. Studying how managers and their organizations can best accomplish this goal is an important realm for my research in the years to come.
Zhang, T., Gino, F., & Margolis, J. (2017). Does "could" lead to good? On the road to moral insight. Academy of Management Journal. Conditionally accepted.
Lu, J. G., Lee, J. J., Gino, F., & Galinsky, A. D. (2017). Polluted morality: Air pollution predicts criminal activity and unethical behavior. Psychological Science. In press.
Derfler-Rozin, R., Baker, B., & Gino, F. (2017). Compromised ethics in hiring processes? How referrers' power affect employees' reactions to referral practices. Academy of Management Journal. In press.
Sezer, O., Gino, F., & Norton, M. (2017). Humblebragging: A distinct--and ineffective--presentation strategy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In press.
Lees, J., & Gino, F. (2017). Is the moral domain unique? A social influence perspective for the study of moral cognition. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. e12327.
Wiltermuth, S., Vincent, L., and Gino, F. (2017). Creativity in unethical behavior attenuates condemnation and breeds social contagion: When transgressions seem to create little harm. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 139, 106-126.
Rogers, T., Zeckhauser, R., Gino, F., Norton, M., & Schweitzer, M. (2017). Artful paltering: The risks and rewards or using truthful statements to mislead others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112(3), 456-473.
Lu, J., Galinsky, A., Maddux, W., Chakroff, A., Quoidbach, J., & Gino, F. (2017). The dark side of going abroad: How broad foreign experiences increase immoral behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112(1), 1-16.
Kouchaki, M., & Gino, F. (2016). Memories of unethical actions become obfuscated over time. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(22), 6166-6171.
Gino, F., Norton, M. I., & Weber, R. A. (2016). Motivated Bayesians: Feeling moral while acting egoistically. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 30(3), 189-212.
Kouchaki, M., Gino, F., & Jami, A. (2015). It's mine, but I'll help you: How psychological ownership increases prosocial behavior. Working paper.
Gino, F., Kouchaki, M., & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). The moral virtue of authenticity: How inauthenticity produces feelings of immorality and impurity. Psychological Science, 26(7), 983-996.
Hildreth, J. A. D., Gino, F., & Bazerman, M. (2015). Blind loyalty? How group loyalty makes us see evil or engage in it. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Conditionally accepted.
Chance, Z., Gino, F., Norton, M. I., & Ariely, D. (2015). The slow decay and quick revival of self-deception. Frontiers in Psychology, 6 (Art 1075), 1-6.
Lee, J. J., Gino, F., Shu Jin, E., Rice, L. K., & Josephs, R. A. (2015). Hormones and ethics: Understanding the biological basis of unethical conduct. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, In press.
Zhang, T., Fletcher, P. O., Gino, F., & Bazerman, M. (2015). Reducing bounded ethicality: How to help individuals notice and avoid unethical behavior. Organizational Dynamics. In press.
Gino, F. (2015). Understanding ordinary unethical behavior: Why people who value morality act immorally. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, Volume 3, 107-111.
Sezer, O., Gino, F., & Bazerman, M. H. (2015). Ethical blind spots: Explaining unintentional unethical behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology. In press.
Ayal, S., Gino, F., Barkan, R., & Ariely, D. (2015). Three principles to REVISE people’s unethical behavior. Perspectives on Psychological Science. In press.
Kouchaki, M., & Gino, F. (2015). Dirty deeds unwanted: The use of biased memory processes in the context of ethics. Current Opinion in Psychology. In press.
Moore, C., & Gino F. (2015). Approach, Ability, Aftermath: A Psychological Framework of Unethical Behavior at Work. Academy of Management Annals, 9, 235-289.
Lee, J. J., & Gino, F. (2015). Poker-faced morality: Concealing emotions leads to utilitarian decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 126, 49-64.
Blake, P. R., Piovesan, M., Montinari, N., Werneken, F., & Gino, F. (2015). Prosocial norms in the classroom: The role of self-regulation in following norms of giving. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Special Issue on the behavioral economics of education, 115(issue C), 18-29.
Shalvi, S., Gino, F., Barkan, R., & Ayal, S. (2015). Self-serving justifications: Doing wrong and feeling moral. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(2), 125-130.
Zhang, T., Gino, F., & Bazerman, M. H. (2014). Morality rebooted: Exploring simple fixes to our moral bugs. Research in Organizational Behavior, Volume 34, 63-79.
Casciaro, T., Gino, F., & Kouchaki, M. (2014). The contaminating effects of building instrumental ties: How networking can make us feel dirty. Administrative Science Quarterly, 59(4), 705-735.
Gino, F. & Wiltermuth, S. (2014). Evil genius? How dishonesty can lead to greater creativity. Psychological Science, 25(4), 973-981.
Ruedy, N. E., Moore, C., Gino, F., & Schweitzer, M. (2013). The cheater’s high: The unexpected affective benefits of unethical behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(4), 531-548.
Gino, F., & Mogilner, C. (2014). Time, money, and morality. Psychological Science, 25(2), 414-421.
Moore, C., & Gino, F. (2013). Ethically adrift: How others pull our moral compass from true north, and how we can fix it. Research in Organizational Behavior, 33, 53-77.
Bazerman, M. H., Gino, F., Shu, L. L., & Tsay, C. (2013). The power of the cognition/emotion distinction for morality. Emotion Review, 6, 87-88.
Kouchaki, M., Gino, F., & Jami, A. (2013). The burden of guilt: Heavy backpacks, light snacks, and enhanced morality. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(1), 414-424.
Gino, F., Krupka, E., & Weber, R. (2013). License to cheat: Voluntary regulation and ethical behavior. Management Science, 59(10), 2187-2203.
Gino, F., Ayal, S., & Ariely, D. (2013). Self-serving altruism? The lure of unethical actions that benefit others. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. Special Issue on “Deception, Incentives and Behavior”, 93, 285-292.
Shaw, A., Montinari, N., Piovesan, M., Olson, K. R., Gino, F., & Norton, M. I. (2013). Children develop a veil of fairness. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(1), 363-375.
Shu, L., Mazar, N., Gino, F., Ariely, D. & Bazerman, M. (2012). Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(38), 15197-15200.
Gino, F., & Galinsky, A. (2012). Vicarious dishonesty: When psychological closeness creates distance from one's own moral compass. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 119(1), 15-26.
Shu, L., & Gino, F. (2012). Sweeping dishonesty under the rug: How unethical actions lead to forgetting of moral rules. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1164-1177.
Barkan, R., Ayal, S., Gino, F., & Ariely, D. (2012). The pot calling the kettle black: Distancing response to ethical dissonance. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141(4), 757-773.
Gino, F., & Desai, S. (2012). Memory lane and morality: How childhood memories promote prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(4), 743-758.
Gino, F., & Ariely, D. (2012). The dark side of creativity: original thinkers can be more dishonest. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(3), 445-459.
Malhotra, D., & Gino, F. (2011). The pursuit of power corrupts: How investing in outside options motivates opportunism in relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly. Special Issue on “Social Psychological Perspectives on Power and Hierarchy,” 56(4), 559-592.
Gino, F., Schweitzer, M., Mead, N., & Ariely, D. (2011). Unable to resist temptation: How self-control depletion promotes unethical behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115(2), 191-203.
Chance, Z., Norton, M., Gino, F., & Ariely, D. (2011). Temporal view of the costs and benefits of self-deception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(3), 15655-15659.
Gino, F., & Margolis, J. (2011). Bringing ethics into focus: How regulatory focus and risk preferences influence (un)ethical behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115(2), 145-156.
Caruso, E. M., & Gino, F. (2011). Blind ethics: Closing one's eyes polarizes moral judgment and discourages dishonest behavior. Cognition, 118(2), 280-285.
Shu, L. L., Gino, F., & Bazerman, M. H. (2011). Dishonest deed, clear conscience: When cheating leads to moral disengagement and motivated forgetting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(4), 330-349.
Bazerman, M. H., Gino, F., Shu, L. L., & Tsay, C. (2011). Joint evaluation as a real world tool for managing emotional assessment of morality. Emotion Review, 3(3), 290-292. Special Issue on “Morality and emotion.”
Gino, F., Shu, L. L., & Bazerman, M. H. (2010). Nameless + Harmless = Blameless: When seemingly irrelevant factors influence judgment of (un)ethical behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 111(2), 102-115.
Gino, F., Norton, M., & Ariely, D. (2010). The counterfeit self: The deceptive costs of faking it. Psychological Science, 21(5), 712-720.
Gino, F., & Pierce, L. (2010). Lying to level the playing field: Why people may dishonestly help or hurt others to create equity. Journal of Business Ethics. Special Issue on “Regulating ethical failures: Insights from Psychology.” 95(1), 89-103.
Grant, A., & Gino, F. (2010). A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(6), 946-955.
Gino, F., & Pierce, L. (2010). Robin Hood under the hood: Wealth-based discrimination in illicit customer help. Organization Science, 21(6), 1176-1194.
Zhong, C., Bohns, V. K., & Gino, F. (2010). Good lamps are the best police: Darkness Increases Dishonesty and Self-Interested Behavior. Psychological Science, 21(3), 311-314.
Gino, F., Gu, J., & Zhong, C. B. (2009). Contagion or restitution? When bad apples can motivate ethical behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(6), 1299-1302.
Gino, F., & Pierce, L. (2009). Dishonesty in the name of equity. Psychological Science, 20(9), 1153-1160.
Gino, F., & Bazerman, M. H. (2009). When misconduct goes unnoticed: The acceptability of gradual erosion in others' unethical behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), 708-719.
Gino, F., & Pierce, L. (2009). The abundance effect: Unethical behavior in the presence of wealth. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109(2), 142-155.
Mead, N., Baumeister, R. F., Gino, F., Schweitzer, M., & Ariely, D. (2009). Too tired to tell the truth: Self-control resource depletion and dishonesty. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(3), 594-597.
Gino, F., Ayal, S., & Ariely, D. (2009). Contagion and differentiation in unethical behavior: The effect of one bad apple on the barrel. Psychological Science, 20(3), 393-398.
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