This stupidity is often functional, they say, because it can come with some benefits. Individuals may prefer to go with the flow in the workplace to save effort and anxiety, particularly if we know there will be incentives or even a promotion in this for us later. Such “strategic ignorance” is now well studied in psychological experiments where participants must compete for money: often participants choose not to know how their decisions affect the other players.8 By remaining in the dark, the player gains some “moral wiggle room” (the scientific term) that allows them to act in a more selfish
...more
