Gender and Dishonesty

Abstract Prior studies have shown that women are less likely than men to be dishonest when confronted with opportunities to cheat. The most common explanation for this finding is sex-role socialization theory: Women are socialized to obey the rules, whereas socialization for men is less binding in this respect. Even so, some women do cheat when given the opportunity. Hence, a theory is needed that accounts for the fact that women engage in dishonest behavior in spite of the restraining forces of internalized normative expectations. Using American college students as subjects, the study examined the relationship between excuse-making tendencies and actual cheating, while controlling for sex. The findings showed that women were significantly more likely to engage in excuse making prior to cheating than were men.