Psychological Perspectives on Ethical Behavior and Decision Making

The book is divided into three relatively coherent sections that focus on understanding the emergence of (un)ethical decisions and behaviors in our work and social lives by adopting a psychological framework. The first section focuses on reviewing our knowledge with respect to the specific notions of ethical behavior and corruption. These chapters aim to provide definitions, boundary conditions and suggestions for future research on these notions.

The second section focuses on the intra-individual processes (affect, cognition and motivation) that determine why and how people display unethical behavior and are able to justify this kind of behavior to a certain extent. In these chapters the common theme is that given specific circumstances psychological processes are activated that bias perceptions of ethical behavior and decision making.

The third section explores how organizational features frame the organizational setting and climate. These chapters focus on how employment of sanctions, procedurally fair leadership and a general code of conduct shapes perceptions of the organizational climate in ways that it becomes clear to organizational members how just, moral and retributive the organization will be in case of unethical behavior.

David De Cremer is Professor of Social Psychology at Tilburg University, affiliated researcher at New York University (Center for Experimental Social Sciences), International Affiliate of the Center for Self and Identity (University of Southampton), and Research Director of JuST (Center for Justice and Social Decision Making at Tilburg University). He earned his Ph.D. degree in social psychology from the University of Southampton in 1999 (summa cum laude). He was visiting professor at New York University and University of Arkansas and visiting graduate student at Ohio State University. From 2001-2006 he was a full-time research fellow of the Netherlands Association for Scientific Research (NWO). He is the recipient of the British Psychology Society award of "Outstanding Ph.D.-thesis in Social Psychology" and of the Jos Jaspers award for "Early-Career Scientific Achievement in Social Psychology" by the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology. His current research interests include social dilemmas and 2-person games, social justice, ethics and sanctions, charisma and leadership, and self and motivation. His work has appeared in the "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology," "Journal of Applied Psychology," "Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology," and elsewhere. He has edited special issues on "Fairness and Ethics," "Justice and Feelings: An Emotional Revolution" (both "Social Justice Research") and "Self, Identity, and Leadership" ("The Leadership Quarterly") and serves on the editorial board of "Journal of Management."
Marcel Zeelenberg is Professor of Social andEconomic Psychology at Tilburg University and currently holds part-time Guest Professorship (2004- 2008) in behavioral decision making at the Center for Research in Experimental Economics and political Decision making (CREED) of the University of Amsterdam. He earned his Ph.D. degree in social psychology from the University of Amsterdam in 1996. He held postdoctoral positions at the Faculty of Technology Management of Eindhoven University and at the School of Biological Sciences at Sussex University (via a European Community, Marie Curie Fellowship). From 1998-2000 he was assistant professor in Marketing at Tilburg University. His current research interests include behavioral decision-making, consumer psychology and the effects of emotions on behavior. In particular he studies the psychology of regret. His work appears in the "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology," "Journal of Consumer Research," "Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Cognition and Emotion," and elsewhere. He is an associate editor of "Theory and Decision, "and he currently serves on the editorial boards of "Journal of Consumer Research," "Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, "and" Foundations and Trends(R) in Marketing."
J. Keith Murnighan is the Harold H. Hines Jr. Distinguished Professor of Risk Management at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He previously taught at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His Ph.D. is in social psychology from Purdue University. His research focuses on leadership, negotiation, teams, decision making, and interpersonal interaction, and currently addresses altruism, auctions, ethics, fairness, power, repentance, self-interest, trust, and cooperation. His papers have appeared in many journals in organizational behavior, social psychology, and economics. His previous books include "The Dynamics of Bargaining Games" (Prentice Hall, 1991), "Bargaining Games: A New Approach to Strategic Thinking in Negotiations" (William Morrow, 1992), "Social Psychology in Organizations: Advances in Theory and Research" (Prentice Hall, 1993), and "The Art of High-Stakes" "Decision-Making: ""Tough Calls in a Speed-Driven World" (with John Mowen; John Wiley & Sons, 2002). He has taught throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia and has received numerous teaching awards from MBA and executive programs at Illinois, UBC, and Northwestern. He is an active trainer and consultant. Some of his recent clients include the American Dental Association, Allscripts, Brunswick, Caterpillar, CDW, Ernst and Young, Kraft, Medtronic, M&I Data Services (now Metavante), Motorola, Metatec, Pfizer, PowerEx, USG, and Zurich Insurance, among others.