to drive through it than a person who has the same expected

value but with certainty of being caught (i.e., a definite $25

fine). More important, over time, the person in the proba-

b

ilistic punishment setting is going to discount the probabil-

ity of the punishment further (as long as he or she is not

caught), which in turn will lead to an even greater tendency

for violation. Eliminating the probabilistic component from

all undesirable behaviors is impossible, but it is clear that

there are some cases (e.g., driving through an intersection at

a red light) in which this is possible and desirable.

When Dishonest Behavior Is Caused by the

Internal Reward Mechanism

If the reason for dishonest actions lies in a lack of internal-

ized social norms, our primary recommendation would be to

invest in educational efforts and socialization to increase the

strength of the internal reward mechanism. The key ques-

tions in this context are, How can this best be done, and is

there a critical age period for the internalization of such

mechanisms (as in language and visual development)? For

example, educational efforts can be integrated in schools,

social clubs, or religious institutions. Another possibility

that is increasingly exercised by the government and the

music, film, and software industries is to feature public mes-

sages in an attempt to build a social norm so that a particu-

lar type of behavior (e.g., illegally downloading music or

movies) becomes socially undesirable and frowned on.

Other efforts could illustrate how such acts can hurt the

rank-and-file workers, not just the big corporations, by

reducing their job security or pay (see, e.g., television adver-

tisements and movie trailers launched by the Motion Picture

Association of America in 2003 and 2004).

When the effects of such efforts on the development of

socially based internal reward mechanisms are understood,

it is important to go a step further and ask what the limits of

such efforts should be and whether society should allow all

ideologies to participate in the creation of such internal

rewards (e.g., what about racial prejudices or particular

cults?). The question about the types of internal reward

mechanisms that society could develop or not develop is

particularly important if we consider the likely possibility

that this process might have a critical period in which

younger people are much more sensitive to such influences

and that when the critical age is reached, these mechanisms

remain relatively stable for the rest of their lives. Given the

higher sensitivity of younger adults to social influence and

advertising, society might want to place careful boundaries

for the development of such socially based internal repre-

sentations by different interested parties, such as religious,

financial, and social institutions.

If dishonest behavior occurs not because of a lack of

social norms but simply because of a lack of self-awareness

and, thus, the degree to which these internalized social

norms are activated, it is important to make use of contex-

tual cues that increase awareness when deception is about to

happen, namely, at the point of temptation. For example, the

IRS could slightly change its forms by making them more

personal or by asking people to sign an honor code of sorts

before they begin filling out the forms. Another possibility

worth trying might be to include a survey that asks tax pay

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