Morality amongst our peers: Does gender affect how honest we are?
Faculty Mentor
Nicolette Rickert
Location
Russell Union Ballroom
Type of Research
Proposed
Session Format
Poster Presentation
College
College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Psychologists have been questioning morality and its role in our life for years. For example, a big issue in the real world is lying, so why do we lie? What motivates us not to lie? What motivates us not to cheat or steal? Examining morality could help us better understand how to guide people to be better, nicer, and more just. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to examine gender and contextual differences in moral behaviors and decision making. The research experiments that have been collected so far show a trend where men were more likely to lie than women. In one study, men showed an overall higher average in lying than women did (Elaad & Gonen-Gal, 2022). Further research found that making people feel connected to one another decreased their likelihood to lie and increased their compassion for other members of their experimenting group; women felt more connected to their groups and also showed lower tendencies to lie to their group members compared to men (Barokas & Ravid, 2025). This study revealed that our personal connections to others and our sense of belonging can affect our tendency to lie. While a lot of literature shows that we lie, another study showed that a high portion of their participants had a strong aversion to lying even when they were economically incentivized to lie (Cappelen, et al., 2013). This study furthers the importance of morality research, learning why we might go against what benefits us due to our values. Limitations in the literature to date will be discussed as well as implications for society and future directions for research.
Program Description
.
Start Date
4-23-2026 2:00 PM
End Date
4-23-2026 4:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Ross, Abigail E., "Morality amongst our peers: Does gender affect how honest we are?" (2026). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 168.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2026/2026/168
Morality amongst our peers: Does gender affect how honest we are?
Russell Union Ballroom
Psychologists have been questioning morality and its role in our life for years. For example, a big issue in the real world is lying, so why do we lie? What motivates us not to lie? What motivates us not to cheat or steal? Examining morality could help us better understand how to guide people to be better, nicer, and more just. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to examine gender and contextual differences in moral behaviors and decision making. The research experiments that have been collected so far show a trend where men were more likely to lie than women. In one study, men showed an overall higher average in lying than women did (Elaad & Gonen-Gal, 2022). Further research found that making people feel connected to one another decreased their likelihood to lie and increased their compassion for other members of their experimenting group; women felt more connected to their groups and also showed lower tendencies to lie to their group members compared to men (Barokas & Ravid, 2025). This study revealed that our personal connections to others and our sense of belonging can affect our tendency to lie. While a lot of literature shows that we lie, another study showed that a high portion of their participants had a strong aversion to lying even when they were economically incentivized to lie (Cappelen, et al., 2013). This study furthers the importance of morality research, learning why we might go against what benefits us due to our values. Limitations in the literature to date will be discussed as well as implications for society and future directions for research.
