Psychologists from the University of Toronto have found that our bodies issue a negative physical response when we entertain the idea of cheating on a test, even if there is no risk of being caught. In an experiment involving undergraduate test takers, participants deciding whether or not to cheat—and who had been explicitly told that cheating would not be punished—had elevated heart rates, shortened breath, and sweaty palms.5 In other words, we’re even physically averse to behaving unfairly.
