Not all cheaters(1) are creative(2). But apparently(3) enough(4) creative people cheat(5) to interest researchers(6) like(7) Francesca Gino. Professor Gino is a behavioral(8) economist at the Harvard Business School in Massachusetts.
”There are(9) actually(10) a lot of examples in the literature, novels(11), movies, comic books about this idea of the evil(12) genius, but really no empirical evidence for this relationship(13).”
Behavioral economists use ideas from psychology to study how people make economic choices(14). Professor Gino tested volunteers(15) to see how creative they were. Then she tested them in situations involving small amounts(16) of money, where they could earn(17) extra by cheating. For example, they took a test(18) and had to copy their answers(19) onto another paper.
But on that other paper the correct answers were already(20) lightly(21) marked, supposedly(22) by mistake(23).
The test-takers knew they would earn more for correct answers. They were led to believe(25) they could cheat without getting caught(26). The results showed that the more(27) creative people were more likely(28) to cheat.
By comparison(29), people who were more intelligent but less(30) creative were not more likely to cheat.
Professor Gino says creative people are better(31) at creating excuses(32) to justify(33) their actions to themselves. ”What we find is that that creativity leads(33) people to be more morally flexible, so they are much more able to come up with(34) justification for the behavior(35) that they’re about to engage(36) in and as a result, they are more likely to cheat.”
She says workplaces(37) that value(38) creativity also create openings(39) for that moral flexibility. Original thinkers(40) may be(41) less likely to follow all the rules(42).
”We think that creativity really helps people resolve this conflict between(43) something that is more longer term(44) –which is the idea of being good and moral — and then something that is more short term(45), [which] is the idea of advancing your own(46) self-interest(47).
And that does not necessarily mean(48) getting money(49) out of cheating, but it could also be getting other types of pleasures or utilities.”
The study shows the “dark side” of creativity: “So it’s not that we are trying to say that people shouldn’t be(50) creative, we are trying to say that they should be creative but they should be thinking about the fact that their creativity can be used for the wrong reasons(51).”
Her research with Dan Ariely at Duke University appears(52) in the Journal(53) of Personality and Social Psychology. For VOA Special English, I’m Alex Villarreal.
Vocabulary
01. Cheaters = trapaceiros
02. Creative = criativo
03. Apparently = aparentemente
04. Enough = o bastante
05. Cheat = enganar, trapacear
06. Researchers = pesquisadores
07. Like = como
08. Behavioral = comportamental
09. There are = existem
10. Actually = na verdade
11. Novels = romances
12. Evil = do mal
13. Relationship = relacionamento
14. Choices = escolhas
15. Volunteers = voluntaries
16. small amounts = pequenas quantidades
17. earn = ganhar
18. took a test = fizeram um teste
19. answers = respostas
20. already = já
21. lightly = levemente
22. supposedly = supostamente
23. by mistake = por engano
24. test-takers = candidates
25. led to believe = levados a acreditar
26. without getting caught = sem serem pegos
27. the more = quanto mais
28. likely = suscetível
29. By comparison = em comparação
30. Less = menos
31. Excuses = desculpas
32. Justify = justificar
33. Leads = conduz
34. come up with = apresentar
35. behavior = comportamento
36. about to engage = prestes a envolver-se
37. workplaces = locais de trabalho
38. value = valorizar
39. openings = aberturas
40. thinkers = pensadores
41. may be = podem ser
42. follow all the rules = seguir todas as regras
43. between = entre
44. longer term = prazo mais longo
45. short term = curto prazo
46. own = próprio
47. self-interest = interesse pessoal
48. mean = significa
49. getting money = conseguir dinheiro
50. shouldn’t be = não deveriam ser
51. wrong reasons = razões erradas
52. appears = aparece
53. Journal = revista, periodico
Vocabulary
01. Cheaters = trapaceiros
02. Creative = criativo
03. Apparently = aparentemente
04. Enough = o bastante
05. Cheat = enganar, trapacear
06. Researchers = pesquisadores
07. Like = como
08. Behavioral = comportamental
09. There are = existem
10. Actually = na verdade
11. Novels = romances
12. Evil = do mal
13. Relationship = relacionamento
14. Choices = escolhas
15. Volunteers = voluntaries
16. small amounts = pequenas quantidades
17. earn = ganhar
18. took a test = fizeram um teste
19. answers = respostas
20. already = já
21. lightly = levemente
22. supposedly = supostamente
23. by mistake = por engano
24. test-takers = candidates
25. led to believe = levados a acreditar
26. without getting caught = sem serem pegos
27. the more = quanto mais
28. likely = suscetível
29. By comparison = em comparação
30. Less = menos
31. Excuses = desculpas
32. Justify = justificar
33. Leads = conduz
34. come up with = apresentar
35. behavior = comportamento
36. about to engage = prestes a envolver-se
37. workplaces = locais de trabalho
38. value = valorizar
39. openings = aberturas
40. thinkers = pensadores
41. may be = podem ser
42. follow all the rules = seguir todas as regras
43. between = entre
44. longer term = prazo mais longo
45. short term = curto prazo
46. own = próprio
47. self-interest = interesse pessoal
48. mean = significa
49. getting money = conseguir dinheiro
50. shouldn’t be = não deveriam ser
51. wrong reasons = razões erradas
52. appears = aparece
53. Journal = revista, periodico