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Josephson Institute of Ethics Releases Study on High School Character and Adult Conduct


Character Study Reveals Predictors of Lying and Cheating

Rich Jarc, Josephson Institute Executive Director
rjarc@jiethics.org | 310-846-4800

The hole in the moral ozone seems to be getting bigger — each new generation is more likely to lie and cheat than the preceding one.
Young people are much more cynical than their elders – they are considerably more likely to believe that it is necessary to lie or cheat in order to succeed. Those who believe dishonesty is necessary are more likely to actually lie and cheat.

Cheaters in high school are far more likely as adults to lie to their spouses, customers and employers and to cheat on expense reports and insurance claims.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Josephson Institute of Ethics today released the findings of the first-ever large-scale study of the relationship between high school attitudes and behavior and later adult conduct. The survey found that current age and attitudes about the need to cheat and actual high school cheating are significant predictors of lying and cheating across a wide range of adult situations.

The report is based on 6,930 respondents in five age groups (17 and under, 18-24, 25-40, 41-50, and over 50) and is released in conjunction with National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week, which focuses attention on the importance teaching core values and developing character in young people. The margin of error varies on each item but ranges between plus/minus 1-2 percent.

Since 1992, the Josephson Institute of Ethics has issued a biennial report on the ethics of American high school students, which has revealed significant erosion of values including high levels of dishonesty (cheating, lying, and theft). The 2008 report showed that during that year 64% cheated on an exam, 42% lied to save money, and 30% stole something from a store. Some dismissed that data on the grounds that kids will be kids and will outgrow such character deficiencies. This new study reveals a close connection between youthful attitudes and behavior and continuing patterns of dishonesty as young people enter the adult world.

“This study confirms unequivocally that character counts now and in the future and that values and habits formed in school persist,” said Michael Josephson, founder and CEO of the Josephson Institute of Ethics. “That’s why more than 90% of survey respondents said they believe schools should be more active in instilling core ethical values like honesty, responsibility, and respect and developing good character in children. Our CHARACTER COUNTS! initiative currently reaches more than 7 million children and their families with specific strategies that build good character based on six universal ethical values (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship) called the Six Pillars of Character.”

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS FROM THE SURVEY

Age matters – The most emphatic finding is that younger generations are significantly more likely to engage in dishonest conduct than those in older cohorts:

Teens 17 or under are five times more likely than those over 50 to hold the cynical belief that lying and cheating are necessary to succeed (51% v 10%), nearly four times as likely to deceive their boss (31% v. 8%), more than three times as likely to keep change mistakenly given to them (49% v. 15%), and more than three times as likely to believe it’s okay to lie to get a child into a better school (38% v. 11%).
Young adults (18-24) are more than three times more likely to have inflated an insurance claim than those over 40 (7% vs. 2%) and more than twice as likely to lie to their spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, or partner about something significant (48% v. 18%).
Attitude matters – Regardless of age, people who believe lying and cheating are a necessary part of success (the report calls them cynics) are more likely to lie and cheat. In fact, t his belief is one of the most significant and reliable predictors of dishonest behavior in the adult world. Cynics are:

Three times more likely to lie to a customer (22% vs. 7%), inflate an expense claim (13% v. 4%), or inflate an insurance claim (6% vs. 2%).
More than twice as likely to conceal or distort information when communicating with their boss (24% vs. 10%).
Twice as likely to lie to their spouse or significant other about something important (45% vs. 22%) or to keep change given by mistake (32% vs. 16%) and one-and-a half-times more likely to cheat on their taxes (20% vs. 13%).
High school character matters – Regardless of current age, people who cheated on exams in high school two or more times are considerably more likely to be dishonest later in life. Compared to those who never cheated, high school cheaters are:

Three times more likely to lie to a customer (20% vs. 6%) or inflate an insurance claim (6% vs. 2%) and more than twice as likely to inflate an expense claim (10% vs. 4%).
Twice as likely to lie to or deceive their boss (20% vs. 10%) or lie about their address to get a child into a better school (29% vs. 15%) and one-and-a-half times more likely to lie to spouse or significant other (35% vs. 22%) or cheat on taxes (18% vs. 13%).