Good Feelings for Bad Deeds - Obvious vs Subtle Dishonesty

This research seeks to understand how positive emotions, specifically feelings of gratitude, help motivate the responses of beneficiaries to the dishonesty. Drawing on work showing that individuals react positively to the dishonesty of others, particularly that which benefits them directly, this research seeks to understand why gratitude may arise from others’ dishonesty. The project to seeks to understand why beneficiaries feel gratitude for the dishonesty of others, what are the boundaries of these reactions, and what sort of unethical behavior reduces of gratitude, reducing positive reinforcing behaviors.