Who Stands at the Top and Bottom of the Slippery Slope?

Abstract:     
Prior research argues that sequential decisions lead to a slippery slope toward wrongdoing, with little evidence to support such claims. We conduct two experiments which demonstrate the existence of the slippery slope in a controlled setting, and investigate whether it leads “good people” to do “bad things.” Our first experiment manipulates whether the potential for wrongdoing sequentially increases or decreases. We find that low-Machiavellians commit larger cumulative wrongdoing when the opportunities are increasing in magnitude, consistent with slippery slope behavior. High-Machiavellians are less susceptible to slippery slope behavior. Our second experiment replicates these results for a more unethical decision, and shows that low-Machiavellian participants who engage in slippery slope behavior undergo a change in beliefs about the appropriateness of engaging in wrongdoing. Our study confirms the slippery slope toward misconduct, suggests that cognitive dissonance is likely to play a role in the phenomenon, and highlights differences in susceptibility across individuals.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 29

Keywords: slippery slope, misconduct, fraud, cognitive dissonance, Machiavellian, ethics

JEL Classification: M00, K00, K20, M10, M14, M40, M41

working papers series